The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has decried the activities of fake whistle-blowers, saying that their activities are misleading the commission.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the EFCC had earlier arraigned three fake whistleblowers in Abuja.
Issuing a statement on Friday, the EFCC lamented that despite due diligence by the commission, scarce investigative resources had been wasted by the agency in following up leads that frequently comes to a dead end.
According to him, the activities of false whistleblowers detract from the noble intendment of the Whistleblower Policy of the Federal Government which seeks to incentivize information leading to the recovery of stolen wealth.
He noted that the Whistle-blower Policy was not designed as a tool for “unscrupulous citizens to send law enforcement agencies on wild goose chase or set them against their perceived enemies.”
The statement said: “Mr Bawa vowed that the EFCC would not hesitate to prosecute any whistleblower who willfully provides the agency with false information.
“He however reiterated the Commission’s preparedness to work with genuine whistleblowers and acknowledged the breakthroughs which the EFCC recorded in its assets recovery drive, using information supplied by whistleblowers.
“The Chairman advised genuine informants to be cautious and ensure that they have accurate information before engaging with the agency.
“Bawa assured that the Directorate of Intelligence which was recently created, will henceforth ensure that all information received by the EFCC is subjected to rigorous due diligence before action is taken,” the statement concluded.
