Whistle-blower Policy:Group condemns dismissal of ministry official for exposing fraud

In a statement signed by the coordinator of the centre on Wednesday, Mr. Chido Onumah, AFRICMIL expressed displeasure over reported dismissal of Mr. Ntia Thompson from service of an Assistant Director in the Directorate for Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for blowing the whistle on the diversion of $229,000 and N800,000 by key officials in the Directorate.

Onumah alleged that Mr. Thompson was initially suspended on December 19, 2016, before the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, who supervises the DTCA, approved his compulsory retirement on February 7, 2017, in a public notice addressed to all staff and signed by Sanda S. Isah, Head of Administration Department in DTCA.

“AFRICMIL views the action of the Ministry not only as most unconscionable but also as another devastating blow to the war against corruption under the current administration,” Onumah stated.

Onumah who asserted that the policy has begun to yield desired results through the recovered looted funds alleged that some top government officials are hell-bent to thwart its effective implementation.

He said,”the sacking of Mr. Thompson for his attempt to contribute to accountability in the public sector by blowing the whistle on financial fraud in his workplace is the latest in the determined effort of some top government officials to ensure that the whistle-blower policy and, to a large extent the fight against corruption, does not gain any meaningful traction.

“Clearly, the Minister of State and other key officials of the Ministry were thoroughly embarrassed by the whistleblower’s revelation and the only way to respond was through his illegal dismissal from service”.

AFRICMIL urged the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, not to approve the dismissal of Mr. Thompson, and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Police “to whom the malfeasance was initially reported” to properly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.