'How we cracked biggest corruption cases in 2007' - Ex-EFCC Chairman

The pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),

He said when he headed the anti-graft agency between 2003 and 2007, the whistle-blowing policy resulted in a successful prosecution of some of the biggest corruption cases.

Speaking at an anti-corruption parley in Abuja on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, Ribadu urged Nigerians to embrace the whistle-blowing as a crucial means of combating endemic corruption in the country.

"Most of our successful cases were as a result of whistle-blowing," he said.

Ribadu, who was removed as EFCC chairman by the late President Umar Yar’Adua in 2007, said the Commission under his leadership maximised the policy measure to prevent corruption in public service, but praised the Buhari administration for adopting it as a state policy.

Buhari embraced the policy in December 2016 with a promise of up to five per cent of recovered sum to potential whistle-blowers.

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According to the Federal government, nearly N400 million was paid out to 20 whistle-blowers in the first half of 2017.

Although the government has recovered billions of naira since the policy was implemented, it has also been criticised for making a media show of its recovery as well as failing on its promise to pay whistle-blowers.