As Mr Abdulmumin Jibrin threatens to expose more alleged systemic
\ncorruption in the investigative hearings and oversight functions of the
\nHouse of Representatives, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project
\n(SERAP) \u201chas called him a whistleblower because of his public interest
\ndisclosures on alleged budget padding and fraud in the House of
\nRepresentatives in the context of his work in the House as a member.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Jibrin yesterday threatened to reveal more alleged \u201csystemic corruption
\namong the leadership of the House of Representatives including in the
\nHouse\u2019s investigative hearings and oversight functions; as well as to
\ndisclose the internal budget of the House.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement released today and signed by SERAP executive director
\nAdetokunbo Mumuni the organization said that, \u201cWe encourage Mr Jibrin to
\ntell Nigerians more about his allegations of systemic corruption in the
\nHouse of Representatives. Mr Jibrin will be doing a positive act of \u2018good
\ncitizenship\u2019 by revealing how exactly is the House profiting from its
\ninvestigative hearings and oversight functions; and disclosing the House\u2019s
\ninternal budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAllegations of budget padding and fraud in the legislative functions
\nthreaten and harm the public interest, and may amount to crimes against
\nhumanity especially given the alleged systemic and widespread nature of
\nthe crimes in the House,\u201d SERAP said.<\/p>\n
According to SERAP, \u201cWe are seriously concerned that Mr Jibrin is not
\nbeing appropriately treated or protected by the authorities to remedy the
\nexposed threats or harm to him. No whistleblower should ever be penalised
\nsimply for making a public interest disclosure. SERAP strongly believes
\nthat every individual should feel safe to freely raise public interest
\nconcerns, just as Mr Jibrin has done in disclosing information on alleged
\nbudget padding and fraud in the House of Representatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement reads in part: \u201cUnless the government of President Muhammadu
\nBuhari grants Mr Jibin the appropriate protection deserving of a
\nwhistleblower, encourage him to disclose corruption in the House\u2019s
\ninvestigative and oversight functions, and promptly act on those
\nallegations, a significant opportunity to protect the public interest
\nwould be missed. Buhari should send a strong message that retaliation or
\nvictimisation of whistleblowers will not be tolerated under his watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a matter of law, this government has an obligation to promptly
\ninvestigate public interest disclosures by a whistleblower such as Mr
\nJibrin, and where necessary bring those suspected to be responsible to
\njustice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe primary focus shouldn\u2019t be that Mr Jibrin broke ranks with an
\nallegedly corrupt system in the House of Representatives within which he
\nhas operated for many years, but rather the public interest disclosures he
\nhas repeatedly made and promises to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEncouraging whistleblowers to speak up improves public services and
\nstrengthens public accountability. Therefore, it is in the interests of
\nall Nigerians that allegations of corruption in the investigative hearings
\nand oversight functions of the House of Representatives should be promptly
\nrevealed, investigated by an independent body and suspected perpetrators
\nbrought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy suspending Mr Jibrin, SERAP believes that the House of Representatives
\nhas acted improperly or attempted to cover up the alleged budget padding
\nand fraud rather than promptly addressing it by referring the allegation
\nto appropriate anticorruption agencies and institutions such as the EFCC
\nand the ICPC.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP believes that the information being disclosed by Mr Jibrin amount
\nto public interest disclosures and in fact can contribute to strengthening
\ntransparency and democratic accountability in the House of Representatives
\nin particular and the country as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP calls on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to urgent
\npropose a robust legislation on protection of whistleblowers in the
\ncountry pursuant to Nigeria\u2019s international human rights and
\nanticorruption obligations and commitments, including the UN Convention
\nagainst Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuspension of Mr Jibrin by the House of Representatives amounts to
\nretaliation. Mr Jibrin\u2019s status as a whistleblower is not diminished even
\nif the perceived threat to the public interest has not materialised, since
\nhe would seem to have reasonable grounds to believe in accuracy of the
\ndisclosures on alleged budget padding and fraud in the House of
\nRepresentatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP notes that freedom of expression is a constitutional and
\ninternationally recognized human right in Nigeria, and the country has
\nenacted the Freedom of Information Act which grants Nigerians the right to
\nseek and receive information such as the information about the massive
\ncorruption in the House of Representatives being disclosed by Mr
\nAbdulmumin Jibrin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP believes that whistleblowing is very important in deterring and
\npreventing corruption, and in strengthening democratic accountability and
\ntransparency in the country in general. Whistleblowing is indeed a
\nfundamental aspect of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience and
\nis important in tackling gross mismanagement of our commonwealth.
\nWhistleblowing can act as an early warning to prevent damage as well as
\ndetect wrongdoing that may otherwise remain hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhistleblowing can also help ensure the effective compliance with
\nNigeria\u2019s international anticorruption obligations by allowing those
\nlegally responsible for the alleged misconduct the opportunity to address
\nthe problem and to account for themselves, and by more readily identifying
\nthose who may be liable for any damage caused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP notes that the European Court of Human Rights has set out key
\nconditions in the case of Guja v. Moldova [GC], no. 14277\/04, ECHR 2008,
\nto determine who is a whistleblower. These conditions were reiterated in
\nthe case of Heinisch v. Germany, no. 28274\/08, ECHR 2011 (extracts) and
\nagain in Bucur and Toma v. Romania, no. 40238\/02, 8 January 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first condition is whether the person who has made the disclosure had
\nat his or her disposal alternative channels for making the disclosure. The
\nsecond is the public interest in the disclosed information. The third is
\nthe authenticity, accuracy and reliability of the disclosed information.
\nThe fourth is the severity of the sanction imposed on the person who made
\nthe disclosure and its consequences. And finally whether the disclosure is
\nmade in good faith. All of these would seem to be present in this case.
\nTherefore, SERAP believes that the public interest in this matter
\noutweighs any perceived act of personal grievance by Mr Jibrin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Mr Abdulmumin Jibrin threatens to expose more alleged systemic corruption in the investigative hearings and oversight functions of the House of Representatives, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) \u201chas…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n