Nigeria, information, go to gra area of ib talk say you want access as nigerian to the governor then see wetin. Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the independent with emma maduabuchi, assistant features editor. The paper revealed the genesis of freedom of information foi bill in nigeria and the organizations instrumental to its enactment. 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. Foi is an act to make public records and information more freely available, provide for. For example, we have the official secrets act, evidence act, the public complaints commission act, the statistics act, and the criminal code. Police act an act to make provision for the organisation, discipline, powers and duties of the police, the special constabulary and the traffic wardens. A bill was passed by both chambers in the first quarter of 2007, but was vetoed by president olusegun obasanjo. It also mandates organizations to preserve its information in such manner that will enhance access to it. Right to access to records the act indicated that every citizen of nigeria is entitled to have access to any records under the control of the government or public institution provided he apply for and. Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia. How to make a freedom of information request in nigeria lawpadi. Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records and.
The focus of this paper is to xray the nigerian freedom of information bill, its relevance and challenges in the scheme of national development. An overview of the freedom of information act an appraisal. Another fundamental issue that affects the freedom of information act is some other media laws that are still fully operational in nigeria. An act to repeal the central bank of nigeria act 1991 and to reenact the central bank of nigeria act. 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. A human rights court ordered the government here on wednesday to.
Background, legislation, and policy issues congressional research service r41933 version 12 updated 2 information services and the national archives and records administration. The act which is an expansion of section 39 of the constitution of the. Family name last name given name first name middle name. Freedom of information bill 2012 article 19 free word centre, 60 farringdon rd, london ec1r 3ga. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in. 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. This study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria. The government of the time considered such a bill dangerous for a. Freedom of info around the world national democratic institute. This form is used within dla to identify foia packages to ensure priority action. Current status, challenges and implications for news media.
Federal republic of nigeria, was signed into law on 28th may. The local authority freedom of information and protection. The freedom of information act foia is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. Pdf nigeria freedom of information act, 2011 574kb. Malawi, montenegro, mozambique, namibia, nepal, nicaragua, nigeria, papua new guinea. This bill may be cited as the freedom of information bill, 2011.
Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the. Prohibition of taking, sending fostered child out of state or nigeria. The government of the time considered such a bill dangerous for a number of. Abstract freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to have. More information on the legislation is available in. It is an act that makes provision for the disclosure of information held by public authorities or by persons providing.
The bill is to ensure free flow of information and to protect public officers for giving out information in their possession. 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 presidents signature may 28 came 11 years after a foi bill was first submitted to nigerias 4th national assembly in 1999. 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. Introduction the long awaited freedom of information bill has gained approval by the national assembly and assented by mr. The researcher consulted secondary sources such as books, journals, and magazines. May i with all humility, therefore, take the liberty to speak on the topic freedom of expression in nigeria. 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. It took well over ten years to pass the freedom of information bill into law in nigeria.
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 cybercrime bill is ultravires the founding values and basic pillars of the constitution since citizens right to access information and freedom of expression are stifled by the bill regardless of the fact that these rights are provided for in the constitution of the country. Two states in nigeria namely ekiti and lagos state have adopted the freedom of information act at state level but they. There shall be established for nigeria a police force to be kn own as the nigeria police force in this act referred to as the force. The rise of internet technology has changed the daily activities of people for the better, ranging from education to health care, business to national security, touching nearly every sector. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in nigeria. Recorded information isnt restricted to information that is in written form, but also information or records that does not exist in print but can by regulation be produced from a machine. 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.
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. Having firmly and solemnly resolve, to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god, dedicated to the promotion of interafrican solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding. Much of the content of these bills is outside the scope of this report. Jun 03, 2011 nigerian president goodluck jonathan has signed a freedom information bill. Nigeria s constitutional and statutory guarantees of the rights to freedom of expression and the. 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. May 06, 20 i had to confront this challenge headon. I have observed that there is increasing frustration or at least a shift in focus internationally from the adoption campaigns of the last two decades or so in favour of exploring the challenge of ensuring more effective. So far, only few states in nigeria have adopted the freedom of information act at state level. The national report referenced the enactment of the terrorism prevention act 2011 and its subsequent amendment in 20. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication for records and office security management ayuba a. Freedom of information act central bank of nigeria.
The freedom of information act provides that individuals have a right to request any recorded information held by a public authority. Freedom of information act united states wikipedia. Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. Freedom of information act foi, foi coalition, nigeria, nigerian press, nigerian mass media introduction. Aug 19, 2016 the freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to promote, enhance and develop our precarious democracy.
It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in. The bill was presented initially in 1999 when the return to democratic governance heightened the expectation that there will be increased disposition towards freer. 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. Nigeria s freedom of information bill and national development jonathan chima ogugua federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria email. 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. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication. Challenges that are confronting the implementation of the act are. Prospects and challenges preye kuro inokoba department of political science niger delta university, p. Navigating a meeting point between the old and the new media i shall now turn attention to the paper.
In order to attain a measure of conceptual clarity. A landmark ruling secured by a citizens coalition could pave way for the passage of the right to information roi law in ghana. Jun 07, 2018 the congress and government have been working on the bill for a long time but have not come to a conclusive format and it may take longer to draft the ideal bill. 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. This form is used within dla by the foia offices to task action offices to begin a search for records. Local authorit freedom of information and protection of priac e. Freedom of information and democracy are interrelated. Nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation. The freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to. Nairaland forum nairaland general politics the freedom of information foi act 2011.
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 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. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Aug 01, 2012 these issues motivated edetaen ojo along with other relevant ngos to initiate the bill that has become freedom of information act. The question still is how free is the freedom of information act 2011 and what are its. Freedom of information act in the philippines soapboxie. A consolidation process largely expected as a formality to finalise the. Promotion of access to information amendment act 54 of 2002 15 january 2003 s. The freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to promote, enhance and develop our precarious democracy.
However, providing this information may assist uscis in locating the records and information needed to respond to your request. 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. This is because a democratic society portrays freedom for the people where government policies are brought in the open for the people to make. It also took the bill three journeys to the national assembly. Foster parent prohibited from marrying fostered child. The nigerian house of representatives and senate both passed a freedom of information bill foib in august 2004 and november 2006 respectively. Welcome to the home page of the freedom of information coalition foic nigeria. Nigerian freedom of information act pdf enacted by the national assembly of the federal republic of 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. Evaluative study of the freedom of information act on. Nigeriaworld feature article freedom of information bill. There is no gain saying the fact that the nigeria freedom of information act was proposed in the context of international affirmation of the rights of citizens to access information held by. The act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and defines nine exemptions to the statute.
In this regard, it is important to discuss the merits and demerits of freedom of information act in general. The said act has long been expected, and nigerians are optimistic as to the positive effect it will have in mitigating cybercrime in the country. Nigerias freedom of information bill and national development jonathan chima ogugua federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria email. As the internet expands, its vulnerabilities have become. This presidential gesture received widespread commendation by many nigerians. 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. This was because the bill empowers nigerians to ask critical questions and demand critical documents or information. The expressions, freedom of information, right to information or right to know are mostly used interchangeably to mean the right of individuals to access information held by public institutions and in certain specific cases information held by private institution performing public functions or where such information is required for the enforcement of a fundamental right. 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.
Pdf freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to. Consequently the information security society of africa nigeria is set to hold a stakeholders conference to enlighten nigerians on the act. Prohibition of withdrawal of a child from the care of the applicant. An appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in. Pdf this study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria. Progress, implementation challenges and prospects funmilola olubunmi omotayo africa regional centre for information science, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria. Nigerian president signs freedom of information bill. The nigerian freedom of information foi act and the right to. 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. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records. An appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in 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. Index termsfreedom, information, records, office security management.
Welcome to the home page of the freedom of information. Proc r in gg 27406 of 22 march 2005 judicial matters amendment act 66 of 2008 17 february 2009 s. Right to freedom of expression and the law of defamation in nigeria imo j. 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. How to make a freedom of information request in nigeria. 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.
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