Whistleblowers in Nigeria and 13 other West African countries face severe risks, including harassment, job loss, and even death, due to the absence of comprehensive legal frameworks to shield them, the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) said Tuesday.
The AFRICMIL Coordinator, Chido Onumah, said this at the ongoing Sub-regional Conference on Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection in West Africa on Tuesday in Abuja.
The event, with the theme, ‘Reducing Corruption in West Africa through Whistleblowing and Whistleblower Protection Laws,’ brought together key players from across the region to address the systemic challenges whistleblowers face.
Mr Onumah described whistleblowers as “endangered species” across the region because of their relevance to the fight against corruption.
In the absence of legal protection, Mr Onumah said, whistleblowers face all kinds of retaliation ranging from stigmatisation and discrimination, dismissal from…