By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed yesterday, how a whistle-blower rejected commission from recovered N1 billion loot, recently.
The minister said the whistle-blower declined any remuneration because he believed it was service rendered to the country.
He did not name the whistle-blower, neither did he name the bank from which the money was recovered.
“I want to put on record that the fellow through whom we recovered N1 billion, in an account, told us he does not want any commission from government because that was his contribution to the country.
‘’But, I can assure you that we are not going to renege on our promise to the appropriate commission to anyone who give us information that leads to recovery of money through this policy, ‘’ he said.
Mohammed noted that the challenge facing the nation’s economy was as a result of the alleged looting by the previous administration.
He said government would remain determined and focused to end the difficult times the people were passing through and added that treasury looters are the greatest assaults to the collective human rights of Nigerians.
The minister stated this, yesterday, in Abuja, at the inauguration of Human Rights Radio founded by Managing Director of Premier Broadcasting Limited and anchor of Embelembe radio programme, Ahmed Isa.
“The greatest assaults to our collective human rights are those people who have stolen our money.
“They are those people who have pocketed the money meant for roads, water, power and medical care.
“Those are the people who have assaulted our collective human rights, who have reduced the average Nigerians to nothingness and humiliated this country,’’ he said.
The minister said that the Federal Government’s unwavering anti-corruption fight is geared towards the protection of the collective rights of Nigerians.
“The whistle-blowing policy is a very simple policy through which we encourage Nigerians who have any information about the violation of our rights, commission of a crime, fraud or corruption or any Nigerian who knows where certain money is being held or kept to anonymously contact us.
“We will protect his or her identity and if the information leads to the recovery of money, he or she will be entitled to 2.5 per cent or 5 per cent of the money recovered.
“We have three channels of passing the information which could be through dedicated SMS, a portal and an e-mail address and all of them are secured,’’ he said.
The minister said that within two months of declaration of the policy of whistle blowers, the government has been able to recover $160 million and N8 billion. He also said the $9.7 million kept in an uncompleted house in Kaduna by a former group managing director of NNPC was recovered through the policy.
“Somebody gave us the information; we went there and saw the money loaded in fridges and boxes and the owner has admitted that the money belong to him.
“He said the money was given to him by friends after he retired and we want those friends to come forward,’’ said Mohammed.
The minister added that $136 million, N7 billion and another one million naira were, respectively, recovered from banks, also as a result of cooperation of whistle-blowers.