Crime
FG Approves New Whistle-blower Bill
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, approved a new Whistle Blower draft bill.
It also lamented that the existing Whistle-blowing policy launched on December 21, 2016, is “losing momentum.”
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this to State House Correspondents after this week’s Council meeting, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Launched in December 2016 by the Buhari-led Government, the Whistleblower Protection Act, facilitated through the Federal Ministry of Finance, provides legal cover for individuals who voluntarily expose acts of fraud, bribery, looted government funds and assets, financial misconduct and other forms of corruption.
The policy also rewards a whistleblower who provides information about any financial mismanagement or tipoff about stolen funds to the ministry’s portal with 2.5 – 5 per cent of the funds recovered by the Nigerian government.
Speaking after this week’s FEC meeting, Ahmed said the Council approved the draft bill to strengthen the fight against corruption and protect whistleblowers that provide helpful information to the FG.
She said: “The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning presented several memos today. The first is the draft whistleblower bill for 2022. This memo has been reviewed by the Council and approved with a provision to ensure alignment with the Evidence Act.
“The purpose of operationalising and putting in place a whistleblower bill is to strengthen the fight against corruption and to enable protection for whistleblowers that provide information for use by the government.
“As you know, since 2016, the Council has approved the setting up the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit. PICA has been working in partnership with EFCC, ICPC, DSS, and NFIU and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“We noticed that the whistleblower policy response has lost momentum. We embarked on engagement in the six geo-political zones, and one of the main outcomes we found is that people are concerned about their safety due to providing information. So, this bill is critical to ensure the effectiveness of the retention of the whistle policy.”
Ahmed also revealed that the Council approved N9.24bn for 2022/2023 Group Life Insurance Cover for civil servants.
This includes government officials in all ministries departments and agencies, paramilitary and intelligence agencies.
According to her, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, presented the memo to the Council.
She said, “The Head of Service of the Federation presented a memo to Council on Group Life Insurance Cover for 2022 to 2023. This insurance coverage covers all government officials in all government agencies, paramilitary and intelligence agencies.
“Council approved the total sum of N9.24bn naira for the insurance cover for 2022 to 2023.
“As you know, the insurance will take effect from the date of payment and in Nigeria, by our laws, the insurance cover is 30 per cent of the annual emolument of any staff of government that is deceased and the insurance company pays this cover to the beneficiaries of the deceased staff”, she said.
The Council also approved the 2022 Finance Bill designed to support the implementation of the 2023 appropriation bill.
Ahmed said: “If you recall, at the public presentation of the budget to the National The minister said the bill has five focus areas: tax equity reforms, climate change and green growth provisions, job creation and economic growth reforms, reforming tax incentives as well as generating revenue-enhancing tax administration.
She explained, “The purpose of the tax equity reforms is to combat tax evasion and aggressive tax planning practices that some companies operating in Nigeria are involved in but also enabling the utilisation of ICT tools and using international best practice to assess taxpayers tax on a fair, reasonable basis.
“The climate change green growth focus will complement non-fiscal reforms designed to reduce greenhouse emissions and facilitate domestic and international investment in climate adaptation, mitigation, and enhance green growth and create jobs.
“The third focus area, job creation and economic growth, is also designed to complement the ease of doing business and other reforms to support capital formation by the private sector as well as to foster enabling business environment for micro, small and medium enterprises for youth as well as women in businesses. It will also help to enhance the performance of businesses in the FinTech, the ICT, entertainment, fashion, sports and the art space.”
Ahmed explained that the fourth tax incentive is to phase out an antiquated pioneer and other tax incentives for mature industries and move a revised set of incentives to real infant industries through economic governance reforms.
She said the FG has also made proposals to reduce tax expenditure equivalent to foregone revenue to support the fiscal space and based on statistics, to gradually transition away from expensive and redundant tax incentives to incentives that reward performance.
The fifth Focus Area of revenue generation and tax administration is to complement the ease of doing business and other reforms that enhance tax administration.
She added that the Finance Bill is amending several fiscal laws, including the capital gains tax, company income tax, customs excise tariff act, Federal Inland Revenue Service act, personal income tax, stamp duties act, tertiary education tax, VAT act, Insurance Act, Nigerian police Trust Fund Act, as well as the National Agency for Engineering Act.
“So with this approval from Council, His Excellency Mr President will convey to the National Assembly a request for the consideration of this bill,” Ahmed said.
According to her, the Council also approved the memo for the design, construction and supply of nine Ballistic Riverine assault boats, as well as nine patrol boats with all associated accessories in favour of Messrs Sewa West African limited in the sum of N689,722,681.30 inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT for the Nigerian customs service.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said the Council also approved the revised National Social Protection Policy (2021 – 2025) presented by the Minister of Finance and Budget and National Planning.
He said: “This revised national social protection policy is an offshoot of a previous policy that was implemented from 2017 to 2020. The review was carried out in collaboration with all relevant ministries, departments and agencies at the federal and state levels and other key stakeholders, including development partners.
“Recall that when the first policy was in place, there was no ministry like humanitarian affairs, and now we have that ministry. And since it’s part of the review process to do this every four years, the review had to be done.
Agba said the National Social Protection Council would be set up and chaired by the Vice President, with the Secretariat domiciled in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Its membership will include the ministers of Labour And Employment and Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, who will serve as Vice Chair of that Council. The ministers will also co-chair a technical working group.
On his part, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said Council approved the contract for procurement of 20 transformer turns ratio analysers awarded to Segulu Stembek Global Services Ltd, at the sum of N564,231,854.08 with 7.5 per cent VAT with a completion period of four months.
He said, “So, this new technology is more reliable. So, it will be used by the TCN in testing the transformers across the country to know their reliability and detect any faults.”
Former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has strongly denied allegations that his properties are proceeds of crime, as he challenges the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in court over an interim forfeiture order.
Malami, in a sworn affidavit before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, maintained that all assets linked to him were lawfully acquired through years of legal practice, business investments, loans, and other legitimate sources of income.
He faulted the EFCC’s position, insisting that the agency failed to present credible evidence connecting any of the properties to unlawful activity.
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According to him, the claims were based on speculation rather than facts.
“There is no document before the court showing these properties were acquired with proceeds of crime,” he argued.
The former Minister of Justice also accused the anti-graft agency of inflating the value of his assets, alleging that properties worth hundreds of millions of naira were wrongly presented as being worth billions.
He further stated that independent valuations had shown significantly lower and more accurate figures.
Malami explained that his wealth was accumulated over decades through legal practice, investments in sectors such as hospitality, agriculture, and education, as well as loans from commercial banks, asset sales, and earnings from book-related activities.
He added that all his income had been duly declared to relevant government agencies.
He also alleged procedural violations, claiming that operatives of the EFCC acted outside their legal authority by seizing properties and evicting occupants without a final forfeiture order.
The EFCC, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had earlier obtained an interim forfeiture order over the assets, linking them to suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, Malami is urging the court to dismiss the order and restore his properties.
A South African court has sentenced opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in prison following his conviction for illegal possession and public discharge of a firearm.
Malema, who leads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was found guilty on multiple counts linked to a 2018 incident during the party’s fifth anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape.
At the event, he was captured in a widely circulated video firing a semi-automatic rifle into the air.
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According to court proceedings, Malema argued that the act was merely celebratory.
However, the court rejected his defence, ruling that the action was not spontaneous but deliberate.
The presiding magistrate described the incident as premeditated and emphasized that Malema’s position as a prominent political figure placed a higher burden of responsibility on him.
The charges against him included unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment.
The court held that such actions posed a serious threat to public safety and could not be excused under any circumstances.
Despite the five-year sentence, Malema was granted leave to appeal, meaning he will not be taken into custody immediately.
He walked free from the courtroom and was greeted by hundreds of supporters who had gathered outside.
Addressing the crowd, Malema alleged that the ruling was politically motivated, claiming that certain forces were attempting to silence him.
His supporters responded with chants and songs, showing continued loyalty to the outspoken politician.
Malema, a former youth leader of the African National Congress (ANC), was expelled after a fallout with former President Jacob Zuma.
He later founded the EFF, which has since grown into one of South Africa’s most influential opposition parties.
Reacting to the development, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula suggested that the case reflected broader political tensions.
However, lobby group AfriForum, which initiated the case after the video surfaced, insisted the prosecution was based strictly on enforcing the law.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has issued a warrant of arrest against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, over their alleged involvement in a multi-million naira fraud case.
The arrest order was issued on Thursday, April 16, 2026, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court after the two defendants failed to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment.
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The duo, alongside a third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, are facing a 21-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards, and the diversion of public funds totaling $1.3 million and N746,574,303.
At Thursday’s proceedings, only Mohammed was present in court.
According to the EFCC, the alleged offences occurred between May 2021 and September 2022 in Abuja.
The anti-graft agency accused Farouq and Alkali of misappropriating funds meant to be refunded to the ministry by a private firm, Visual ICT Limited.
The money was reportedly linked to excess payments under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that although the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, the two defendants could not initially be served.
He added that despite assurances from their legal representatives, they failed to present themselves in court.
Jacobs further revealed that Farouq had earlier requested the release of her passport for a medical trip to Saudi Arabia in 2024 but has yet to return it or provide any medical report to justify her absence.
“My lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned it to the Commission, and no medical report has been submitted,” Jacobs stated, questioning the validity of the health claims presented by her counsel.
Counsel to the first defendant, Abdul Ibrahim, attributed his client’s absence to ill health and attempted to tender an affidavit to that effect, but the court rejected the application.
The EFCC also sought to amend an earlier ex-parte motion to focus on the first and second defendants and requested a bench warrant to compel their appearance.
The prosecution supported its request with an affidavit stating that both defendants had been granted administrative bail but failed to report back.
In response, the defence counsel pleaded with the court to grant a six-week extension to produce Farouq in court.
However, in his ruling, Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the EFCC’s application and issued a warrant for the arrest of the two defendants.
The case was subsequently adjourned to May 18, 2026, for arraignment and commencement of trial.
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