Established by the United Nations in 2019 and celebrated yearly on the 23rd day of June, World Whistleblowers Day aims to highlight the importance of whistleblowers and celebrate the role they play in exposing wrongdoing and in upholding accountability and integrity in organisations.
Whistleblowing is the act of disclosing information that exposes wrongdoing, improper or illegal activities and practices within an organisation to the management of the organisation, government agencies, regulators or the public. A whistleblower may be an employee (whether past or current) of an organisation or any other stakeholder who may have knowledge or come into possession of information indicating some form of wrongdoing. Such a person is expected to make disclosures that serve the interest of upholding the law, regulations, public safety, accountability and good governance or standards including the organisation’s own policies, procedures and processes. Whistleblowing should be done in good faith and should not be for malicious reasons or as part of a vendetta. In some cases, rewards or personal gain may be offered or given to incentivise or reward whistleblowing, these are however not widely used in corporate organisations, and where used, the information received would be heavily scrutinised for accuracy and the whistleblowers assessed to avoid conflicts of interests or tainted information.
A culture of open reporting is healthy within organisations to ensure that issues are identified early, guidance is provided clearly, and potential wrongdoing is stopped and dealt with effectively before it escalates or becomes an improper act or wrongdoing; or evolves into institutionalised behaviour or a corporate culture of wrongdoing. Where early reporting has failed or an unhealthy corporate culture has encouraged, allowed or condoned wrongdoing in a particular area, whistleblowers serve as essential agents in uncovering all types of misconduct within organisations.
Whistleblowing can either be internal, where reports are made to management, designated officers of an organisation or through the organisation’s established channels; or external, where the whistle is blown directly to law enforcement agencies such as the police, regulators or government agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations, the media or the general public.
An effective whistleblowing program is important for the following reasons:
1. It encourages the maintenance of ethical conduct and good governance practices.
2. It promotes a culture of compliance with laws, regulations and guidelines applicable to the particular organisation’s activities.
3. It may reduce reputational damage and enhance public trust and credibility within and outside of organisations that are seen to take whistleblowing reports seriously.
4. It mitigates possible losses for the organisation.
While Nigeria does not have a standalone whistleblowing legislation which guides whistleblowing and offers protection to whistleblowers yet, in 2016, the Federal Ministry of Finance issued a Whistleblower Policy targeted at the recovery of stolen or concealed public funds or assets. Whistleblowers who provided credible information to the Federal Government leading to the recovery of loot were rewarded with a sum ranging between 2.5% to 5% of the amount recovered. The policy was intended to be an interim regime pending the passing of the Whistleblower Protection Bill which however till date, has still not evolved into law. The bill purports to expand the scope of the policy to include improper conduct by individuals, public officials, as well as private and public entities and to offer statutory protection to whistleblowers.
There are other laws in force in Nigeria which include whistleblowing provisions. They include the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, 2000 (the “ICPC Act”), which provides for the protection of the whistleblower’s identity and punishes anyone who knowingly discloses false information. The Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance, 2018 (the “NCCG”) provides that companies should have an effective whistleblowing framework for reporting any illegal or unethical behaviour. There are also sector-specific corporate governance guidelines such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Corporate Governance Guidelines for Commercial, Merchant, Non-Interest and Payment Service Banks in Nigeria 2023, the Pension Commission’s Guidelines on Corporate Governance for Pension Fund Operators 2021, the National Insurance Commission’s Corporate Governance Guidelines for Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Nigeria 2021, among others, that require companies in these sectors to have whistleblowing mechanisms that encourage disclosures of unethical conducts. These various guidelines complement the NCCG which requires regulated companies to adopt the corporate governance practices contained in the NCCG and their applicable sector-specific guidelines.
It is important for organisations of a certain size and structure to develop internal whistleblowing frameworks that include policies and procedures that establish channels for reporting, processes to independently assess, review and investigate allegations, as well as offer protection and support to whistleblowers.
A major component of a whistleblowing framework is a whistleblowing policy. An organisation’s whistleblowing policy may also be embedded in its code of ethics or similar policy document.
A good whistleblowing policy should have the following qualities and provisions:
1. Simple and concise language.
2. Clear, trusted and respected reporting lines for internal reporting.
3. Efficient and independent external reporting channels which may include a whistleblowing hotline, web intake /portals, dedicated apps, dedicated email addresses etc.
4. Assurance of confidentiality of information disclosed by whistleblowers, and where desired, anonymity of identities.
5. An anti-retaliation provision to prevent ill-treatment or harassment of the whistleblower and a statement of zero-tolerance of such conduct.
6. Transparency of outcome, to the extent possible by law, sound unbiased judgment, and best practice.
7. Assurances of thorough investigations of information provided and disclosures made by the whistleblower.
8. Assurances of appropriate disciplinary measures to be taken per organisational policy regarding persons found liable based on the information disclosed by whistleblower.
9. Statement to caution that whistleblowing must be done in good faith and that disciplinary measures may be taken against individuals who provide malicious or false information under the guise of whistleblowing.
The onboarding process following the receipt of information provided by a whistleblower differs but may evolve as follows:
- Assignment to an initial review team who assesses the information provided by the whistleblower to determine the subject matter and its merits for a full investigation and thereafter referring the matter to an investigating team.
- Constitution of an appropriate unbiased investigating team which may comprise of a company’s officers across compliance, internal audit, human resources, and legal services and possible subject matter experts who will, among others, define the objectives, scope, timeline and required resources.
Alternatively, if determined necessary, an external third-party such as independent consultants may be appointed to investigate the report or allegations.
- The investigating team will obtain other relevant information such as documents, data, records etc. that support the information provided by the whistleblower Where necessary, interviews with key personnel and or witnesses will be conducted for greater insight and in some cases, forensic or digital reviews are required.
- The investigating team will conduct an evaluation of all the information collected and develop a report on its findings, following which a decision can be reached by the appropriate level of management of the organisation and thereafter communicated to the relevant stakeholders.
- The outcome of the investigation may require follow-up actions or steps to be taken which may include implementation of corrective measures, monitoring of the identified misconduct or practice and possible legal proceedings.
Throughout the investigation process, it is essential to consider relevant laws, regulations, organisational policies, procedures and established best practices and to maintain the confidentiality of information and protection of whistleblowers to avoid retaliation and ensure trust in the reporting system.
Conclusion
Whistleblowing remains an important avenue for maintaining transparency and credibility across organisations in both private and public sectors and the need for the protection of the whistleblowers must rest within a robust whistleblowing framework which includes clear policies and reporting channels; and supports thorough investigation of information disclosed through whistleblowing while upholding best practice in compliance.
A commitment to support whistleblowing not only enhances organisational resilience but also reinforces the collective responsibility to sustain ethical standards in today’s global community.
