Whistle blowing policy and the fight against corruption in Nigeria: implications for criminal justice and the due process

Abstract

Corruption is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of every system in Nigeria. It is a crime with such a despicable viral effect and disastrous tendency like a terror bomb. Though it is more of an executive crime but no well-meaning government handles corruption with levity because the extremity of its ugly tentacles is capable of obstructing good governance. Therefore, the system has to be sanitized to make the process hitch free for strategic developmental adventure. One of the major challenges in the fight against corruption is detecting and exposing corruption. Whistle blowing therefore becomes a veritable means to fight this cancerous crime. After all, criminal justice exists for the control and prevention of crime. However, in every crime control and prevention exercise, due process of law demands that no free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will the state proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except in accordance with the law or by the lawful judgment of a competent court. This paper deals with the challenges the enforcement of whistle blowing policy is posing to the Nigerian criminal justice process.

Keywords: Criminal Justice Process, Due Process, Whistle Blowing Policy, Corruption, Nigeria