ECOWAS Commission calls for whistle blower protection laws – TheNigerialawyer

The ECOWAS Commission on Tuesday urged ECOWAS Parliamentarians
to enact laws and take other appropriate measures to protect
whistle blowers in the sub-region.

Mr Eyesan Okorodudu, Head, Democracy and Good Governance, ECOWAS
Commission, said this in a paper he presented on “ECOWAS Protocol
on Anti-Corruption and the Regional Network (NACIWA): What
Progress?”

He gave the presentation at the Delocalised Meeting of the Joint
Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and APRM, Gender,
Women Empowerment, Social Protection, Legal and Judicial Affairs
held in Burkina Faso.

The theme of the event which is “Status of Implementation of
ECOWAS Protocol A/P3/ 12/ 01 on the Fight Against Corruption:
ECOWAS Parliament’s contribution thereto” is to give the overview
on implementation of the Protocol which was adopted in Dakar in
Dec. 2001.

Okorodudu said that the Article 5 of the fight against
corruption A/P3/ 12/ 01 was of must important to the commission
which borders on preventive measures.

“We want to make the parliamentarians realize that there is need
for them to work around measures to protect whistle blowers.

“Because now, with the aid of social media a lot of whistle
blowers do come up with very strong evidential reports on corrupt
practices and when you see it on social media it becomes an all
comers.

“In one of the member states the whistle blower policy did not
see the light of day in the parliament and you have to get an
executive order.

“It is interesting to know that with the executive order you can
work to an extends, it has some limitation but when you have a law
enacted like protocol requires then certainly you can do a lot to
protect whistle blower.

“And also whistle blower can get the benefit of their civil
responsibilities which the laws of whistle blower provide for
them.”

He said that the 15 member countries of NACIWA adopted the
strategy of protection tool that ECOWAS have put in place imploring
them to set up a law on whistle blower stating that it was very
cost intensive to embark on whistle blower policy.

“A percentage is meant to be given to the whistle blower, but
the danger involved in protecting the whistle blower, the strategy
involved, once you blow the whistle corruption fight back.

“And if it fights back, there are certain mechanism that needs
to be put in place, one of them will be relocating the entire
family of that individual.

“And people go behind the scene to expose the whistle blower, so
we need to get the whistle blower policy to guide member States to
come up with their laws, so if you have it as a law then the State
is totally involved.”

Okorodudu, however, recommended that government should give the
Anti-corruption agencies independent powers to prosecute corruption
matters.

He said that media and CSO’s should ensure their oversight roles
on monitoring corruption cases is done with transparency.

However, Mr Mahmoud Riadds, a Researcher with the University of
Benin said that a participatory approach was needed in the fight
against corruption.

He said that with the participatory approach people should not
seat in their offices but meet with other relevant stakeholders to
prevent corruption.

Riadds said that judges needs to be careful because they are
pacesetter and if they compromise the State will be weaken and
won’t be stable.

He said that in the fight against corruption, mechanisms should
be emplaced to protect the life of the whistle blower.

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!