Bills on hate speech and social media are dangerous. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Nigerias freedom of information foi act was signed into law on may 28, 2011, after the longest legislative debate in the history of nigeria. 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 laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments. This bill may be cited as the freedom of information bill, 2011. In order to attain a measure of conceptual clarity. Article 19 welcomes the adoption of the freedom of information act in nigeria in may 2011.
Edetaen ojo, head media rights agenda mra, a young organization for the defense of free expression rights, civil liberties organization clo, and the. You are part of the reason why people cant walk up to their government to make their demands known, something that happens in other countries with no personal connections necessary. The paper revealed the genesis of freedom of information foi bill in nigeria and the organizations instrumental to its enactment. Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy abuja 06. A twoday national summit on the freedom of information bill was held at the valencia hotel, abuja on tuesday, august 2 and wednesday, august 3, 2005. The researcher consulted secondary sources such as books, journals, and magazines for the collection of data. Pdf this study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in nigeria.
How to make a freedom of information request in nigeria. A human rights court ordered the government here on wednesday to. The freedom of information act provides that individuals have a right to request any recorded information held by a public authority. Federal republic of nigeria, was signed into law on 28th may. 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. Prospects and challenges preye kuro inokoba department of political science niger delta university, p. Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. 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. Freedom of information act and democratic consolidation in. Freedom of information bill page 1 ict policy africa. 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. The nigerian government has recently stated its resolve to regulate the operation of social media and the information shared on them.
Just coming from a period that saw national outcry against the frivolous petitions bill popularly known as the antisocial media bill and the arrest of another blogger, it offers great hope for the future of the country that a new and citizenfriendly bill the digital rights and freedom bill hb. Extension oftime limit for granting or refusing application. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records. 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. The bill was presented initially in 1999 when the return to democratic governance heightened the expectation that there will be increased disposition towards freer. The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed into law. 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 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 act, or foia, was signed into law by president lyndon johnson in 1966, giving the public the right to access records from any. Right to freedom of expression and the law of defamation in nigeria imo j. Determine the level of awareness of the provisions of the freedom of information act among journalists in nigeria 2. The basic function of the freedom of information act is to ensure informed citizens, vital to the functioning of a democratic society. Ascertain the journalists perception of the strengths of the act in journalism practice.
The social media bill contains overbroad provisions that unduly restrict access to and use of social media and seems designed to gag freedom of expression. It also mandates organizations to preserve its information in such manner that will enhance access to it. 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 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. A consolidation process largely expected as a formality to finalise the. In nigeria, the case is different as the freedom of information act, according to ogbuokiri 2011, contains more exemption sections and clauses than sections that grant access to information. The freedom of information act foia is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is an act for accessing public information to service the peoples right to know.
Pdf an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia. 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 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. Freedom of information act foi, foi coalition, nigeria, nigerian press, nigerian mass media introduction. Freedom of information act 2011 laws of the federation of nigeria arrangement of sections 1.
For example, section 3, which relates to the transmission of false statements of facts, contains provisions against sharing statements likely to be prejudicial to the security of nigeria. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication. 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. They establish a righttoknow legal process by which requests may.
Pdf freedom of information in nigeria chukwudi ezeukwu. This study appraises the freedom of information act in nigeria. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. 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. The freedom of information act was enacted a few years ago, to. May 06, 20 nigeria is operating now as a democracy so the freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions, receive and impart ideas without interference should be a fundamental right guaranteed under the universal declaration of human rights udhr, the african charter on human and peoples rights, achpr. Aug 15, 2016 the digital rights and freedom bill is a very timely intervention in nigerias digital economy and represents a bridge to nigerias prosperous digital future. With the coming into force of the act, every person now has a legal right of. This means that some mischievous public officers can use these sections for unjust and mischievous purposes. Virtually all government information in nigeria is classified as top secret. 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.
Freedom of information act a ray of hope for democracy. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in. 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. This site can help you determine if filing a foia request is the best option for you and help you create your request when youre ready. 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 an appraisal of the freedom of information act foia in nigeria. 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. N 4 nnamdi azikiwe library university of nigeria nsukka. The coalition also works to popularize the freedom of information foi bill among various sections of the nigerian society and secure their support in the push for the enactment of the bill into law. 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.
After a decade of consistent and fearless advocacy by civil society and media practitioners, the newly elected president of. They establish a righttoknow legal process by which requests may be made for governmentheld information, to be. Pdf freedom of information foi refers to the right which citizens in a society are expected to have to access information held by government. Federal republic of nigeria commonwealth human rights. 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. Freedom of information act, 2011 arrangement of sections section.
The freedom of information bill, 2002 memorandum the object of this bill is to a establish the public information commission and define its functions. 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. 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. Nigerias freedom of information bill and national development jonathan chima ogugua federal university of technology, owerri, nigeria email. Extension of time limit for granting or refusing application 7. Analysis of nigeria freedom of information act on records and. 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 relevance of nigerias freedom of information act 2011 to the.
So far, only few states in nigeria have adopted the freedom of information act at state level. The nigerian freedom of information bill was along awaited bill which was finally signed. 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. 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. The limit of information act in freedom of information act 2011 and the fight against corruption and corporate fraud in governance. 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.
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. 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 information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes. The bill is to ensure free flow of information and to protect public officers for giving out information in their possession. Nigeria and move it towards the part of economic and social transformation. Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the independent with emma maduabuchi, assistant features editor. Nigeriaworld feature article freedom of information bill. For the enactment of new tcpdf encoding freedom of information act. Obstacles to the implementation of the freedom of information act, 2011 in nigeria page 96 obstacles to the implementation of the freedom of information act, 2011 in nigeria abstract the freedom of information act is the law that gives citizens the right to access information from government institutions and agencies. Ajimobi disowns freedom of information foi act in oyo state a lawyers explanation of the freedom of information act 2011 1 2 reply go down the freedom of information foi act 2011. Edetaen ojo, executive director of media rights agenda, gave an extensive interview to the independent. The digital rights and freedom bill is a very timely intervention in nigerias digital economy and represents a bridge to nigerias prosperous digital future. This means that the protection of freedom of speech as a right. It is related to freedom of expression, which can apply to any medium, be it oral, writing, print, electronic, or through art forms.
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