Executive chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, has said the war against corruption would not be won through lip service, emotional outburst or mere mob campaigns.
“There is need for commitment, passion, consistency and credibility of intelligence. Every whistle blown must point towards truth and evidential proofs. There is punishment for false claims and misleading intelligence,” he warned.
In his message read by Dr Benedict Ubi, the Acting Zonal Director, EFCC Zonal Directorate, Kaduna, on the occasion of 2024 African Anti-corruption Day in Kaduna yesterday, the EFCC boss said the world over, the issue of corruption had been a bane to both local and global development.
He said: “Aside terrorism, corruption ranks as the next deadliest affliction of humanity in every region of the world.
“In view of the danger and threat to our existence which corruption represents, it is imperative that individuals, communities, corporate bodies and, indeed, the whole world join hands to tackle it frontally. One way of doing this is through the whistle-blowing initiative.
“The whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria was launched on December 21, 2016, by the federal government through the federal ministry of finance as an anti-corruption programme that encourages people to voluntarily disclose information about fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, abuse or embezzlement of government assets and any other form of corruption or theft.
‘’Whistleblowers are anti-corruption promoters. Through their efforts, anti-corruption agencies are alerted about environmental compromises that should be investigated. The alert can come through verbal and non-verbal corridors.
‘’At the EFCC, the Eagle Eye app is an established corruption reporting device that is generating intelligence the commission can leverage on.
“I urge whistleblowers to key into this device. Mails can be sent, telephone calls can be made, and personal visits can be made to any EFCC command across the country to expose acts of shadiness around us. We also assure every whistle-blower of protection. EFCC will never betray you.”
