SERAP launches Citizens’ Guide to ICPC to encourage whistleblowers
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has launched a new Citizens’ Guide to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to encourage Nigerians to report to the commission any reports of corruption whether or not this directly affect them.In a media briefing Friday at Ikeja to launch the report carried out in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), and written by Professor Oyelowo Oyewo former dean of the faculty of law University of Lagos, the organization’s executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni said that, “This simplified document aims to increase citizens’ awareness about the ICPC, and contains practical information, including the very important points such as examples of typical incidences of corruption by local government officials, and how a citizen can lodge a complaint before the ICPC.”
“The report also encourages citizens to take on the role of “whistle-blowers” that can trigger investigations into corrupt practices that will lead to prosecution and conviction of corrupt public officials, in particular at the local government level. It perfectly complements the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, which confers on the citizens the right to access public records under section 1,” Mumuni said.
According to the organization, “Section 24 (e) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) imposes a duty on every citizen to “render assistance to appropriate and lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order”. Hence there is a duty placed on every Nigerian citizen to report to the ICPC any form of action, activity, transaction, event, or phenomenon, that portends corruption under whatever guise.”
The report explains that “the ICPC Act in section 6(f) imposes a duty on the Commission to “to enlist and foster public support in combating corruption.” Hence a citizen can make a report/petition about corrupt practices at any of the Offices of the ICPC, to enable any of the officers of the Commission to investigate such report/petition as provided by the ICPC Act.”
The report also states that “the combined effect of sections 22 and 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), provide the right to freedom of expression to the citizen, through the mass media to expose corruption, by publicizing such through the media. Such expose will be aimed at triggering the self- initiated investigative powers of the Commission that can be initiated by the Chairman under section 36(1) of the ICPC Act.”
“While the report can be used by the citizens to lodge complaints before the ICPC on allegations of corruption generally, the report primarily focuses on local government level corruption in order to address the high level official corruption at this level, and as well as the impunity of perpetrators,” the organization also said.
According to the organization, “Several allegations of corruption among local government officials are not adequately reported; and actions are rarely taken to redress the problem or to achieve accountability. Yet, local-level corruption is assessed to be much more widespread that corruption at the federal and state levels, probably because of the direct and personal contacts local government officials have with citizens in providing the most ordinary and most sought after public services.
Mumuni said that the application of the report is undertaken under the organization’s citizens’ against local government corruption. According to him, several copies of the report will be donated to the ICPC, and copies will be widely distributed and made available to the general public free of charge.
