The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed into law. Freedom of information act foia the freedom of information act is a legal extension of the constitutional provisions on freedom of expression designed partly to give practical expression to that provision. Ascertain the journalists perception of the strengths of the act in journalism practice. Universal declaration of human rights, article 19 everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. So far, only few states in nigeria have adopted the freedom of information act at state level. Just coming from a period that saw national outcry against the frivolous petitions bill, popularly known as the antisocial media bill, and the. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in. The government of the united kingdom has theorised it as being an extension of freedom of speech, and a fundamental human right. 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. It is related to freedom of expression, which can apply to any medium, be it oral, writing, print, electronic, or through art forms. Against this backdrop, the need for a nigeria freedom of information act. In order to attain a measure of conceptual clarity. The freedom of information act 1997 foi act as amended by the freedom of information amendment act 2003 obliged government departments, the health service executive hse, local authorities and a range of other public bodies to publish information on their activities and to make the information that they held, including personal information, available to citizens. Tony anyanwu and nduka irabor for the first time and abike dabiri for the second time ojebode, 2011.
Right to freedom of expression and the law of defamation in nigeria imo j. Prospects and challenges preye kuro inokoba department of political science niger delta university, p. This act may be cited as the freedom of information act, 2004 retained as in the bill 2 right of access to records 1 subject to the provisions of this act but notwithstanding anything contained in any other act, law or regulation, every citizen of the federal republic of nigeria. For the enactment of new tcpdf encoding freedom of information act. Accordingly, the right of access of official information, which the bill grants will be legally enforceable. Freedom of information bill frequently asked questions subject to the provisions of this act but notwithstanding anything contained in any other act, law or regulation, every citizen of the federal.
Enacted by the national assembly of the federal republic of nigeria 1. Concluded that the freedom of information act has made records or. The other, as expressed by the muslim opponents of the publication of the cartoons, is that there are limits to freedom of expression, and that one of these is the denigration of religion and through that the. At last, jonathan signs foi bill into law vanguard news. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in.
It took well over ten years to pass the freedom of information bill into law in nigeria. Freedom of information bill frequently asked questions subject to the provisions of this act but notwithstanding anything contained in any other act, law or regulation, every citizen of the federal republic of nigeria, has a legally enforceable right to, and shall, on application be given access to any record under the control of a. Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the independent. 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. The freedom of information office, in discharging its duties, shall, at all times, collaborate with legal services department and other business units in addressing requests and ensure that the laid down procedures are followed at all times as indicated below. 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 act the freedom of information act foia generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information except to the extent the records are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia.
Justus abuah, in a statement, in abuja, yesterday, said, president jonathan has signed the freedom of information bill. Central bank of nigeria freedom of information office. Evaluative study of the freedom of information act on. Freedom of information act 2011 laws of the federation of nigeria arrangement of sections 1. A consolidation process largely expected as a formality to finalise the. Aug 15, 2016 something exciting is brewing in nigeria. Abstract freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to have to access information held by government institutions and officials. 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.
Welcome to the home page of the freedom of information. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication for records and office security management ayuba a. Freedom of information act in the philippines soapboxie. Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the independent with emma maduabuchi, assistant features editor. The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed. Nigerias freedom of information bill and national development jonathan chima ogugua federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria email. An appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. The bill was presented initially in 1999 when the return to democratic governance heightened the expectation that there will be increased disposition towards freer. With the coming into force of the act, every person now has a legal right of. This was because the bill empowers nigerians to ask critical questions and demand critical documents or information. This bill may be cited as the freedom of information bill, 2011.
The availability of timely and accurate information from authentic sources is a booster to national development. Jun 07, 2018 the freedom of information foi act is an important piece of legislation which has been passed in many countries to promote transparency in the governments administrative process. Nigeriaworld feature article freedom of information bill. A deputy director of information in the office of the special adviser, mr. The paper revealed the genesis of freedom of information foi bill in nigeria and the organizations instrumental to its enactment. Against this backdrop, the need for a nigeria freedom of information act foia had been emphasized by many media scholars. Article 19 welcomes the adoption of the freedom of information act in nigeria in may 2011. Freedom of information is a necessity in order to salvage the nation nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation. The bill is to ensure free flow of information and to protect public officers for giving out information in their possession. The limit of information act in freedom of information act 2011 and the fight against corruption and corporate fraud in governance. With this act, citizens are empowered to make a formal request to get information which is held by the government, barring certain sensitive and important data. It also mandates organizations to preserve its information in such manner that will enhance access to it. Tracking the global decline freedom on the net is a comprehensive study of internet freedom in.
The government of the time considered such a bill dangerous for a number of. Extension of time limit for granting or refusing application 7. Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy. Nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation. Udofa department of public law, faculty of law university of uyo, uyo, akwa ibom state, nigeria abstract section 391 of the 1999 constitution of nigeria guarantees freedom of expression as a fundamental right. Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy abuja 06.
They establish a righttoknow legal process by which requests may. It sets out the revised government proposals, but also contains new provisions applying freedom of information and data protection to parliament. The freedom of information act foia generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information except to the extent the records are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions exemptions. The freedom of information foi act is an important piece of legislation which has been passed in many countries to promote transparency in the governments administrative process. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records and.
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. Determine the level of awareness of the provisions of the freedom of information act among journalists in nigeria 2. Ii an outline of the scheme the bill creates a statutory right to information which will supersede the nonstatutory. Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. This means that the protection of freedom of speech as a right. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Request the applicant to complete the form or assist. Challenges that are confronting the implementation of the act are. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in nigeria. They establish a righttoknow legal process by which requests may be made for governmentheld information, to be. The focus of this paper is to xray the nigerian freedom of information bill, its relevance and challenges in the scheme of national.
It is an act for accessing public information to service the peoples right to know. 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. If you would like to make a freedom of information request from any public institution in nigeria, you may use the template which we at lawpadi created foi request template. I notwithstanding anything contained in any other act, law or regulation, the. N 4 nnamdi azikiwe library university of nigeria nsukka. It was organized by the freedom of information coalition, in collaboration with the national human rights commission nhrc, the independent corrupt practices and other related offences. 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. For a country like nigeria that had witnessed decades of military rule where press freedom was restricted, it came as a relief when the freedom of information bill was signed into law.
Jun 01, 2011 a deputy director of information in the office of the special adviser, mr. Further weakening of press freedom in the united states would be a setback for democracy everywhere. Aug 01, 2012 for a country like nigeria that had witnessed decades of military rule where press freedom was restricted, it came as a relief when the freedom of information bill was signed into law. The freedom of information bill that finally emerged in nigeria is one of the best in the world, according to a key figure in the successful campaign for a foi law in nigeria. Welcome to the home page of the freedom of information coalition foic nigeria. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records.
The bill was presented to the national assembly two times by journalists. Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments. Freedom of information act central bank of nigeria. 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.
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