The Collaboration for Justice and Protection of Whistleblowers in Nigeria (CJPWBN) has criticised the government over what it described as the growing risks faced by whistleblowers and local security operatives working to protect communities.

The group raised the concerns during a virtual event held on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, to commemorate the 2026 World Whistleblower Day.

The event was organised in collaboration with Set Up Nigeria and the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) as part of efforts to promote social justice, accountability and stronger protection for people who expose wrongdoing.

Representing CJPWBN at the event, Professor Fatima Waziri-Azi, a Professor of Public Law at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), highlighted the role of whistleblowers in protecting public resources and exposing wrongdoing.

Waziri-Azi, who is also a human rights activist, philanthropist and founder of the Safe Haven Foundation, expressed concern over the number of Nigerians, particularly young people, who she said had lost their lives, freedom or health in the course of serving and protecting the country.

She also drew attention to the difficult conditions confronting vigilante groups and other local security personnel, with particular reference to the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Agency.

According to her, such operatives perform important functions by helping to protect their communities and combat criminal activities, but often do so without adequate government support, equipment or reinforcement.

The group commended the local security workers for their efforts but said deploying inadequately equipped personnel to areas with high concentrations of criminals exposed them to unnecessary danger.

It specifically mentioned Agege, Mushin and Sango-Ota, a border community between Lagos and Ogun states, as areas where thugs, miscreants and street urchins allegedly engage in activities including vandalism, theft, robbery and kidnapping.

Waziri-Azi said it was dangerous to expect neighbourhood watch groups and local vigilantes to undertake operations better suited to specially trained police units and military intelligence personnel.

“It is suicidal for Neighborhood Watch and Local Vigilante to do the jobs that Special Police force and military intelligence should do.”

She added that the government and other relevant state actors needed to take responsibility for the safety of local security personnel deployed to confront serious criminal threats.

The professor also cited a recent incident in the Sango area involving a team of young vigilantes who were reportedly deployed to confront armed criminals.

According to her, the deployment resulted in the deaths of some members of the team, while others were left exposed to physical attacks and threats.

She further identified Owodunni Oluwafisayo, Tanko Abdullah and Joseph Ismail as young men in their 20s who, according to the group, experienced severe distress while serving in neighbourhood watch duties and eventually fled the country to seek protection abroad.

CJPWBN also raised concerns over the situation of Nigerian whistleblower Nnamdi Emeh, who it said exposed alleged police corruption and extrajudicial killings and has remained incarcerated at the Awka Correctional Centre since December.

The group said cases involving whistleblowers who have exposed alleged corruption and other wrongdoing continued to create fear among Nigerians with information they could provide to authorities.

It argued that the continued reports of reprisals against whistleblowers could discourage people from exposing corruption and other forms of wrongdoing in the public interest.

CJPWBN therefore called on the government to develop a lasting solution to what it described as inadequate protection for whistleblowers and endangered local security personnel.

The group also expressed concern that Nigeria’s existing whistleblower policy had lost momentum, citing the absence of comprehensive legal protection for whistleblowers and security personnel operating in vulnerable environments.

It recalled that since November 2022, a coalition of stakeholders had advocated the urgent passage of a whistleblower protection bill before the end of the Ninth National Assembly on June 11, 2023.

The coalition included the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Amnesty International and the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN).

However, CJPWBN said little appeared to have changed despite the advocacy and renewed calls for stronger institutional protection.

The group appealed to the government to prioritise the safety of whistleblowers and local security workers, arguing that citizens who provide information or voluntarily help protect their communities should not be left vulnerable to retaliation, inadequate resources or avoidable danger.