By Dolly Aminata Issa, Communications Officer, ACC
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has denounced academic anomalies, particularly exams malpractices, and rolled out regulations on the protection of whistleblowers and witnesses in an awareness-raising engagement. Held on 20th January 2026, the occasion attracted staff and Diploma students of Adkan College of Management and Technology at Newton, near Waterloo.
In his remarks, Head of the Outreach Unit, Aiah Sourie detailed on the importance of whistleblowing in the fight against corruption. ‘To my mind,’ he said, ‘whistleblowing is simply reporting unethical conduct particular in public offices for appropriate action to be taken.’ He urged the attendees to report corruption boldly and truthfully assuring them of legal protection under the ACC’s newly introduced ‘Whistleblower and Witness Protection Regulations’.
According to the Regulations, Mr. Sourie explained, anyone who has reported an act of corruption and feels threatened by the individual or institution involved in the reported act may apply for a protection from the ACC. Mr. Sourie added that the Commission will conceal the identity of the whistleblower and witness all in an attempt to ensure the protection agreement remains intact. ‘This effort gives confidence to the public to increase the rate of reporting corruption.’
Delivering a statement at the event, Senior Communications Officer, Alhaji A. K. Bangura, remarked that cheating in exams is an obvious departure from best practices and learning outcomes. He stressed that the practice takes place before, during, and after the conduct of exams and poses serious threat to the development of students’ potentials ‘in our educational institutions’.
Mr. Bangura strongly encouraged his audience to resist all forms of corruption and work very hard to earn their grades. He disclosed that the deviant behaviour violates the Anti-Corruption Act (ACA) of 2008 (As Amended in 2019) and attracts serious penalties. According to him, the Amended ACA explicitly states that anyone who exploits any programme undertaken by an educational institution for his or her personal gain commits an offence.
Responding to the anti-corruption messages, the Director of Studies and Principal of the college, Abubakarr Nyallay, thanked the ACC for the interactive engagement. He opined that improved data management and accessibility in many government offices would go a long way in corruption prevention. Mr. Nyallay called on the ACC to engage his institution again in the near future.
