21 Nigerian institutions criticised for ‘violating’ FOI law
A host of public institutions have been publicly shamed for
repeatedly failing to comply with the provisions of Freedom of
Information Act.
The Media Rights Agenda published the 2017 list of ‘FoI Hall of Shame’ which also included some federal court judges.
More than 20 institutions and persons exhibited “an inexplicable disregard for the rights of citizens to seek and obtain information from public institutions while also demonstrating a near absolute contempt for the law,” the MRA said in a statement by its programme officer, Idowu Adewale.
In many instances, the MRA found, the culprits didn’t even acknowledge receipt of FoI enquiries, much less give a desired response.
The law mandates public institutions to grant access and reply to request for public records, except those on national security, within a time limit of seven days. Any insufficient denial of such request by an institution or public official attracts a fine of N500,000 payable on conviction by a court.
Yet, Nigerian ministries, departments and agencies have received very few requests for information from citizens, the AGF’s office found in a performance review published in October 2017.
The report said in 2014, 2015 and 2016, over 53 per cent of government agencies received ”just one or no request for information in the years under review.”
In 2014, 60 public institutions submitted FOI reports out of which 26 of them received no request from the public while 12 received just one request.
The remaining 22 received requests for information ranging from two to 133.
While the MRA did not dispute the findings of the AGF, the media advocacy group scolded public institutions for thwarting Nigerians who filed requests, a frustrating act that could discourage other citizens from making attempts.
The Media Rights Agenda published the 2017 list of ‘FoI Hall of Shame’ which also included some federal court judges.
More than 20 institutions and persons exhibited “an inexplicable disregard for the rights of citizens to seek and obtain information from public institutions while also demonstrating a near absolute contempt for the law,” the MRA said in a statement by its programme officer, Idowu Adewale.
In many instances, the MRA found, the culprits didn’t even acknowledge receipt of FoI enquiries, much less give a desired response.
The law mandates public institutions to grant access and reply to request for public records, except those on national security, within a time limit of seven days. Any insufficient denial of such request by an institution or public official attracts a fine of N500,000 payable on conviction by a court.
Yet, Nigerian ministries, departments and agencies have received very few requests for information from citizens, the AGF’s office found in a performance review published in October 2017.
The report said in 2014, 2015 and 2016, over 53 per cent of government agencies received ”just one or no request for information in the years under review.”
In 2014, 60 public institutions submitted FOI reports out of which 26 of them received no request from the public while 12 received just one request.
While the MRA did not dispute the findings of the AGF, the media advocacy group scolded public institutions for thwarting Nigerians who filed requests, a frustrating act that could discourage other citizens from making attempts.
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