“How do you defend a whistleblower in a violent state?” That was an intriguing query that had by no means existed on the degree of 1’s unconscious till Abdul Mahmud, ebullient human rights lawyer and prime interlocutor at a nationwide convention in Abuja, delivered it straight from the shoulder earlier than a perplexed viewers. However as his eyes swept the corridor for a solution, none got here earlier than the occasion ended.
The one-day convention was organized by African Centre for Media and Info Literacy (AFRICMIL), in collaboration with Amnesty Worldwide Nigeria, to discover the nexus between whistleblowing, corruption and human rights, and in doing so spotlight the essence of whistleblowing as a conveyor belt of free speech and an affirmation of particular person human dignity and ethical value that requires full safety from the state or different authentic establishments.
Its theme, ‘Amplifying Whistleblowing to scale back Corruption and defend Human Rights,’ was painstakingly determined to say the worth of whistleblowers in exposing or stopping wrongdoing, and the need of standing up for them for largely enjoying the fragile function of human rights defenders who’re most often victimized for performing what’s clearly the citizenship responsibility of defending the well-being of different residents and the broader society.
Certainly, that whistleblowing is a basic human proper is neither theoretical nor speculative. All relevant statutes from the home to the worldwide are clear on this. And Maxwell Kadiri, senior authorized officer at Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and human rights advocate who was the keynote speaker, made the purpose succinctly in his refreshingly scholarly deal with by delving into the origin of whistleblowing and laying out all of the legal guidelines proclaiming it as a human proper that deserves safety.
For instance, Part 39 of the Nigerian Structure (1999) states: “Each individual shall be entitled to freedom of expression, together with freedom to carry opinions and to obtain and impart data with out interference…” What this implies is that whistleblowing, at first sight, comes below freedom to carry opinion and expression.
There isn’t any doubt that this provision of the Nigerian structure was borrowed from a spread of previous legal guidelines together with Article 19 of the United Nations Common Declaration of Human Rights (1948) to which Nigeria is a signatory, in addition to Article 10 of the European Conference on Human Rights (1950), Article 13 of the American Conference on Human Rights (1969), and even Article 12 of the Common Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (1981). All of this acknowledge freedom of expression however prohibit the liberty to the notions of nationwide safety and public order.
Nonetheless, worthy of notice is that in exercising the correct to carry opinion and specific themselves by disclosing public curiosity illegalities or potential hazard to competent authorities, whistleblowers are additionally serving to – immediately or not directly – to guard the correct being harmed by the wrongdoing they disclose. It isn’t for nothing, subsequently, that a few of the most outstanding whistleblowing instances globally could be traced to whistleblowers who’ve reported wrongdoing that amounted to human rights abuse.
Only one instance of such is Dr. Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Chinese language ophthalmologist who was the primary to blow the whistle on the covid-19 virus and different points associated to the correct to life and entry to healthcare. And there are numerous extra unsung heroes like Wenliang whose disclosures have uncovered corruption and its collateral human rights violations. Whistleblowers have largely served as human rights defenders after they expose threats to human rights that the general public should not in a position to entry.
In Nigeria, they’ve continued to be victims of relentless persecution merely for doing the correct factor: exposing wrongdoing which serves public curiosity. This is likely one of the main causes for the whistleblowing, corruption and human rights convention. Establishments and people perpetrating wrongdoing usually discover it tough to confess their mistake. As a substitute of tackling the message, they shoot down the messenger. Not a day passes with no report of public sector staff on the federal and sub-national ranges being censored or penalized for difficult authorities by reporting fraud, corruption, misconduct and different illegalities.
Though part 6 of Nigeria’s whistleblowing coverage supplies safety for whistleblowers on the receiving finish of punishment for reporting wrongdoing, no whistleblower is understood to have loved any safety below this provision. It is because the oversight establishments are so weak that they aren’t in a position to assert themselves to implement this provision successfully. Moderately than guarantee sincere implementation of the coverage, these establishments are sometimes discovered doing the bidding of the individuals reported, not in a position to summon the braveness to carry them to account for his or her wrongdoing and would perpetually ignore complaints of victimized whistleblowers.
On the convention, there have been at the least 4 whistleblowers with totally different stomach-churning tales of office oppression starting from suspension, harassment, denial of wage and different advantages, punitive posting, abusive lawsuits, outright dismissal, and menace to life. On the threat of seeming conceited, it needs to be said that AFRICMIL is overwhelmed with calls for for assist from whistleblowers on this class.
Within the face of those various assaults, it’s no shock that residents are exhibiting subsequent to no real interest in participating whistleblowing regardless of its famed ranking as an extension of the correct of freedom of expression that’s linked to the ideas of accountability and integrity. To forestall a person from exercising this proper is rather more than a denial of basic human proper; it’s a violation of humanity.
However again once more to Mahmud’s thought-provoking poser in a special rendition. How can a citizen who dangers all the pieces together with life to precise public curiosity concern both by talking out or writing be shielded from retaliation in a ruthless society? The straight reply, for one, is that with the hyperlink between whistleblowing, corruption and public curiosity clearly established by means of the disclosure of large-scale corruption in excessive locations and different illegalities within the office, it’s the duty of the state to summon the desire to guard residents who face assaults for performing the authentic responsibility of reporting wrongdoing.
Utilizing Nigeria as a typical case, Part 15(5) of the Structure (1999) mandates authorities (the state) “to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of energy.” If authorities complies with this provision in sincerity it can, explicitly or implicitly, be defending whistleblowers from punishment for making disclosures on corrupt practices and human rights violations. Sadly, successive Nigerian governments over many years have refused to imbibe the firmness of function to maintain religion with this provision, thus knowingly watering the seed of unabated shameless suppression of whistleblowers by highly effective wrongdoers. The current choice by George Akume, secretary to the federal government of the federation, to jail staff for exposing wrongful acts of their places of work, have solely worsened the state of affairs and stands condemned.
Along with strict adherence to its constitutional obligation of combating corruption, the Nigerian authorities ought to rapidly enact a complete regulation that ensures safety for whistleblowers as a means of encouraging and defending residents who disclose illegalities in all types. A invoice on the topic is already mendacity on the desk of President Bola Tinubu. He shouldn’t waste extra time earlier than sending it to the parliament for the required consideration. That is the expectation of contributors on the convention. It’s now a matter of political will, and this authorities should act within the curiosity of fulfilling it.
Regardless of the repressive nature of the Nigerian society, whistleblowers could have a way of safety if authorities exhibits seriousness in checkmating corruption by sticking to the function assigned to it within the structure and putting in a authorized framework for safeguarding brave residents who report corruption.
Whistleblowing is about selling the tradition of reality, self-expression and democracy. Dr. Chido Onumah, coordinator of AFRICMIL and his counterpart on the Amnesty Worldwide Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, have agreed as a lot and said their resolve to work collectively to protect the liberty of expression rights of residents because it pertains to whistleblowing.
Onyeacholem is a journalist and speak-up tradition advocate.
