Advocates seek sensitization of judges on FOI Act

IN view of the allegation that decisions are being given “inconsistent with the spirit and letters of the law,” information advocates have called for the sensitization of judges on the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. 

   In a communiqué at the end of their three-day FOI implementers’ strategy meeting in Abuja last Thursday, they also noted that cases were routinely taking over a year to resolve in the courts of first instance despite the requirement that FOI cases should be dealt with summarily.

   The meeting noted that if the Act would be effective, the bar and the bench must play a more positive role in its implementation while effective strategies should be in place for addressing the legal and judicial challenges. 

   It therefore resolved that measures be taken to sensitize judges about the provisions of the Act and that agencies like the National Judicial Institute (NJI) and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) should be involved in such efforts.

   Organized by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) II Project, the meeting was attended by 120 participants from across the country – comprising representatives of civil societies and legal practitioners litigating FOI cases.

   Among the speakers at the event were the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh (SAN), and President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr. Kelechi Nwosu. 

   According to the forum, “there have been tremendous improvements in the implementation of the FOI Act in recent times as a result of their collective efforts, as there is now more awareness about the Act, as well as a significant increase in the level of usage of the Act by different people.”

   Nevertheless, it noted that the level of usage remained far too low given the country’s population and the issues that citizens ought to engage in. It also expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation where it is impossible to tell how many people are actually using the Act, their categories or what type of information are being requested.

   The meeting stressed the need to collaboratively develop a mechanism for tracking all FOI requests across the country so as to provide reliable data and statistics about the usage of its provisions. 

   It further commended the lawyers who provide free legal assistance to individuals and organizations to vindicate their rights of access to information whenever they are wrongfully denied information and called on other legal practitioners to join such efforts.