In 2011, the Freedom Of Information (FOI) Act was signed into law, in a bid to promote accountability and transparency in the public sector. The FOIA guarantees the right to information within the control of public institutions to all Nigerians, irrespective of age, class, or occupation. However, almost every institution concerned would not provide any response until you drag them to court.

Less than a year after it was passed into law, a civil society group, the Nigerian Contract Monitoring Coalition, had to institute a case against the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, at a Federal High Court in Abuja. The coalition had applied to PHCN and the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc, one of the beneficiary companies of a particular World Bank-funded project, for copies of procurement documents and information relating to the contract for the supplies materials. They were denied for no reason.

In a significant ruling for access to information in Nigeria, Justice Ademola granted the coalition’s application after hearing its lawyer’s arguments in support of the motion. A similar case involved Civil Liberties Organization, against the Enugu State health commissioner in 2014. Before they could get their response, the CLOs had to ask the court for an order mandating the commissioner to disclose records and documents in respect of the contract awarded for the building and completion of a Diagnostics Center in the state.

In what seemed to be a defeat of this long fight for the “right to know,” a Federal High Court in Lagos declared that the FOIA is not binding on all states, citing that each state is regulated by its own House of Assembly. This was in November 2014. Since then, it’s always a tough legal battle to get state governments and other institutions to release any information. As would be expected, state governments have capitalized on this to keep their illicit affairs private. Most of the court cases are with states or their MDAs. One would ask of why state governments are that paranoid about transparent governance. Could it be an obvious pointer to the irregularities going on within states administration?

Thanks to the Media Rights Agenda, that judgment recently got reversed. On the 29th of November, A Lagos High Court, sitting in the Ikeja Judicial Division, has ruled that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 is applicable to the Government of Lagos State and requires no “domestication” by the State to have an effect. MRA had in November 2016 requested from the state government, details and copies of plans put in place by the institution to provide the Araromi Zion Estate located in Akiode Area of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) with health care services, and other related information. Following the refusal to provide this, a legal battle ensued over the potency of FOIA in Lagos and other states. Good enough, justice won. Legally, you have the “right to know” anything as much as you require now.

Source: http://igotalk.ng/states-afraid-foi-act/

God will bless Goodluck Jonathan.

Meanwhile a certain current president is pushing for a ban on social media and punishment for anyone making noise against government bad policies.