AGF Says FG Pays Whistleblowers Only When Funds Are Recovered

The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has explained that the federal government only “pays whistleblowers after successful recovery not for mere tracing or exposure of suspected illegitimate funds.”

This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday, issued by Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, AGF Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Office.

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Malami denied reports in some dailies that government had committed to paying whistleblowers when they make disclosures.

The statement added that” the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice wants to make it categorically clear that a whistleblower does not get payment on account of exposing looted assets, but on successful recovery and lodgment of same into the designated assets  recovery account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The OAGF stressed that his office had stipulated guidelines regarding its dealings with any “whistleblower or recovery agent”

Malami listed the procedures that must be concluded before a whistleblower can be said to be due for payment:

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1.  A Proposal is submitted to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation

2. A Letter of engagement is issued to a whistle-blower or recovery agent where the disclosure is assed to have some prospects of success,

  1. The recovery agent or whistle-blower is expected to notify in writing the acceptance of the engagement,

4. The recovery agent or whistle blower is expected, upon acceptance, to not only trace the assets but recover same and have it deposited in a designated asset recovery account maintained by the Federal Government of Nigeria in the Central Bank which is usually provided to the recovery agent in writing.,

5. Where these funds are eventually claimed to have been lodged by a whistle-blower or recovery agent, the Central Bank issue acknowledgement of receipt of the fund to the Office of Attorney-General on demand.

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The statement further reads:

“The role of the Office of the Attorney-General in essence is simply that of processing the above listed documents to the Ministry of Finance which is the Ministry saddled with the responsibility of effecting payment.

“The agreed remuneration shall become due and payable to the whistle-blower within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the recovered/looted funds by the Federal Government of Nigeria and payment shall be made the designated nominated account provided in writing by the whistle-blower”.

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