The freedom of information foi act signed into law on may 28, 2011 is an act that gives every nigerian a legal right of access to information, records, and documents held by government bodies and private bodies carrying out public functions. Freedom of information act foi, foi coalition, nigeria, nigerian press, nigerian mass media introduction. The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication for records and office security management ayuba a.
Apr, 2018 freedom of information act applicable to all state in nigeria, appeal court rules nigerian states have no powers to reject requests filed under the freedom of information act foi, the court of. Freedom of information bill passed by the national assembly, one of his major excuses was that it would undermine nigerias national security, especially in the light of the fact that a decision by the head of a public institution to deny access to information would be subject to. Nigerias freedom of information bill and national development jonathan chima ogugua federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria email. Freedom of information act central bank of nigeria. In order to attain a measure of conceptual clarity. Abstract freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to have.
Printed and published by the federal government press, lagos, nigeria fgp 65012992,000 ol 2 c277 freedom of information bill, 1999 arrangement of clauses clauses. Promotion of access to information act 2000 act no. The freedom of information act, or foia, was signed into law by president lyndon johnson in 1966, giving the public the right to access records from any. An overview of the freedom of information act an appraisal. Freedom of information is a necessity in order to salvage the nation nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation.
Freedom of information act in nigeria in pdf this publication is the report of the outcome of the 2000 world press freedom day workshop organized by media rights agenda in collaboration with the united nations information centre unic in lagos, unesco and nta channel 10. Freedom of information bill in nigeria for over eight years, the protagonists of the freedom of information bill have been toiling to get it passed at the national assembly. Pdf freedom of information in nigeria chukwudi ezeukwu. The freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to promote, enhance and develop our precarious democracy. Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. Guest speaker, edem andah right, speaking during a lecture on the importance of freedom of information bill visavis press freedom for the development of democracy in nigeria to mark world press freedom day at the american corner, ibadan, recently. Concluded that the freedom of information act has made records or. Information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes and related purposes thereof, 2011 commencement be it enacted by the national assembly of the federal republic of nigeria as follows 1. The freedom of information foi act signed into law on may 28, 2011 is an act that gives every nigerian a legal right of access to information, records, and documents held by government bodies and private.
Aug 19, 2016 the freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to promote, enhance and develop our precarious democracy. Malawi, montenegro, mozambique, namibia, nepal, nicaragua, nigeria, papua. It is an act that makes provision for the disclosure of information held by public authorities or by persons providing. The nigerian government has recently stated its resolve to regulate the operation of social media and the information shared on them. A landmark ruling secured by a citizens coalition could pave way for the passage of the right to information roi law in ghana. Federal republic of nigeria, was signed into law on 28th may. To trace the journey of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Article 19 welcomes the adoption of the freedom of information act in nigeria in may 2011. For the enactment of new tcpdf encoding freedom of information act.
The nigerian house of representatives and senate both passed a freedom of information bill foib in august 2004 and november 2006 respectively. The bill is to ensure free flow of information and to protect public officers for giving out information in their possession. The twoday national conference on the theme freedom of information act 2011 and the fight against corruption and corporate fraud in governance, organized at abuja, was the institutes way of lending its voice to the federal governments fight against corruption and corporate fraud using the foi act as a point of reference. Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments. The nigerian experience, authoremmanuel uwazie anyanwu and pearl c.
Department of mass communication delta state university, abraka, nigeria abstract this paper takes another look at the state of press freedom in nigeria, given fifteen years of uninterrupted democracy in the country. Bills on hate speech and social media are dangerous. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication ipedr. Malgwi2, bulama kagu3 and ibrahim danjuma4 1 department of business management, university of maiduguri nigeria 2 bursary department, university of maiduguri, 3department of education, university of maiduguri, 4faculty of management and human resource. The freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to. Freedom of the mass media and access to information proclamation no. Perceptual influence of freedom of information act on journalism practice in nigeria genevieve oluchukwu abone1, jude terna kur2 1department of mass communication, anambra state university, igbariam campus, nigeria 2department of information and media technology, federal university of technology, minna, niger state, nigeria abstract. Prospects and challenges preye kuro inokoba department of political science niger delta university, p. The focus of this paper is to xray the nigerian freedom of information bill, its relevance and challenges in the scheme of national development. Freedom of information and democracy are interrelated. Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy abuja 06. With less than a month to go until the end of the parliamentary session in nigeria, the freedom of information bill will be a priority, according to senate officials. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in nigeria.
I would think that now that we have freedom of information as our law, you would not require a background check to understand that information is now available to all citizens and so it no longer makes sense to hoard it, if you had access to it before this. Freedom of information bill passed by the national assembly, one of his major excuses was that it would undermine nigeria s national security, especially in the light of the fact that a decision by the head of a public institution to deny access to information would be subject to. To determine the way forward for effective implantation of the foia in nigeria. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in. And the need for a freedom of information act is so obvious that governments and international bodies to which nigeria is signatory, like the commonwealth, the united nations, have all but passed. Freedom of information act 2011 laws of the federation of nigeria an act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of. Historically, the freedom of information bill in nigeria could be traced back to 1993 during the regime of general sani abacha in which transparent government was not the order of the day. Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy. The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed into law. To examine the relevance of the freedom of information act.
Pdf freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to have to access information held by government. The freedom of information act foia is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. Freedom of info around the world national democratic institute. The big task remaining, however, is to harmonize the house and senate bills, and a joint committee to do the job has not been appointed. These issues motivated edetaen ojo along with other relevant ngos to initiate the bill that has become freedom of information act. Even before the passage and subsequent signing of the freedom of information bill into law, there were strong views that the act was going to facilitate journalism practice in nigeria. The act which is an expansion of section 39 of the constitution of the. So far, only few states in nigeria have adopted the freedom of information act at state level. To identify the challenges for the implementation of the freedom of information act d. Freedom of information act applicable to all state in nigeria. The paper revealed the genesis of freedom of information foi bill in nigeria and the organizations instrumental to its enactment. Oct 12, 2011 the twoday national conference on the theme freedom of information act 2011 and the fight against corruption and corporate fraud in governance, organized at abuja, was the institutes way of lending its voice to the federal governments fight against corruption and corporate fraud using the foi act as a point of reference. Progress, implementation challenges and prospects funmilola olubunmi omotayo africa regional centre for information science, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria.
Nigeria foi was enacted in 2011, foi is an act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences of disclosing certain kinds of official. By ayodele afolayan introduction freedom of information, specifically access to information held by public authorities is a fundamental element of the right to freedom of expression and vital to the proper functioning of a democracy. The existing cyber crimes act and the antiterrorism act, which already cover many of the offences the new bills seek to address, have been used as tools to gag freedom of expression in nigeria. Right to freedom of expression the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed and protected in section 39 of the 1999 constitution of nigeria in the following terms. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records.
The bill was presented initially in 1999 when the return to democratic governance heightened the expectation that there will be increased disposition towards freer. Hope, because in a period of dire economic challenges in nigeria, this groundbreaking bill seeks to lay the foundation for nigerias emerging digital economy. An appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. Freedom of information act applicable to all state in nigeria, appeal court rules nigerian states have no powers to reject requests filed under the freedom of information act foi, the court of. Freedom of information act in nigeria in pdf this publication is the report of the outcome of the 2000 world press freedom day workshop organized by media rights agenda in collaboration with the.
The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. Nigeriaworld feature article freedom of information bill. A human rights court ordered the government here on wednesday to. The freedom of information bill foiis an act to make public records and information freely available, provided for public access to public records and information. After a decade of consistent and fearless advocacy by civil society and media practitioners, the newly elected president of. Pdf this study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria. Nigerias constitution and press freedom the tide news. Aug 01, 2012 these issues motivated edetaen ojo along with other relevant ngos to initiate the bill that has become freedom of information act. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication.
If you refuse, i will charge you to court for violating my rights. Nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Going by the foi act, i am entitled to the information and i demand it as my right. The researcher consulted secondary sources such as books, journals, and magazines. Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia. This bill brings hope for a future where nigerian citizens online rights and freedoms are protected by law.
Federal republic of nigeria commonwealth human rights. I want you to include the home addresses, phone numbers and bank account numbers of all the public office holders in your possession. This is because a democratic society portrays freedom for the people where government policies are brought in the open for the people to make. The relevance of the information bill is that it give room to openness and transparency. This bill may be cited as the freedom of information bill, 2011. Freedom of information is an extension of freedom of speech, a fundamental human right recognized in international law, which is today understood more generally as freedom of expression in any medium, be it orally, in writing, print, through the internet or through art forms. A consolidation process largely expected as a formality to finalise the. Freedom of information bill page 1 ict policy africa. Freedom of information, act 2011 historically, the freedom of information bill in nigeria could be traced back to 1993 during the regime. This study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria.
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