Obi, MRA lament harassments, erosion of democratic ideals

To commemorate this year’s International Democracy Day, the Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP) at the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has expressed deep concern over perceived poor state of Nigeria’s democracy, saying it has suffered untold setbacks.

He spoke just as Media Rights Agenda (MRA) flayed the Department of State Services (DSS) for harassing the leader of a community group, who requested information from Lagos State Government under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.

In a statement, yesterday, Obi stressed the need for Nigeria to uphold the tenets of democracy, including free speech, civil liberties, and the rule of law. He lamented that Nigeria’s democracy had been plagued by leadership failure, corruption, insecurity, and human rights abuses, which, he said, had caused untold hardship for citizens.

Noting that the country’s democratic ideals had been eroded over time, he noted that the development had earned the country the classification of a “captured state”, where citizens suffered, while political leaders exploit state resources.

He cited various indices that indicated Nigeria’s poor performance in democracy to include a low democracy index score of 4.23, a ranking of 145th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index, and a ranking of 120th out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index.

He also expressed concern over the suppression of freedom of speech in Nigeria, citing the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, which described Nigeria as one of West Africa’s most dangerous countries for journalists.

“On a day like this, may we pause and examine our democratic journey as a nation and strive to build our nation on the solid rock of true democracy, where every Nigerian is given a voice and a fair hearing, irrespective of tribe, religion or political affiliation,” he added.

MRA, in its remarks, decried the act of intimidation by the Federal Government, saying it was unlawful and aimed at undermining the very principles of transparency and accountability that the Act was designed to uphold.

The organisation condemned the DSS for harassing the leader of a citizens’ group for requesting information from the government under the FOI Act. The DSS in Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos State reportedly called one of the conveners of Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum, Mr Jamiu Olayinka, on the telephone in the morning of September 12 and invited him to the DSS office in Ibeju-Lekki at 10 a.m. that same day.

Olayinka said that when he honoured the invitation, he was questioned about an FOI request he made to the Lagos State Government and the subsequent lawsuit he filed to enforce compliance with the FOI request.

He request is related to over the $100 million reportedly paid by billionaire businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, to the state government for approximately 7,000 acres of land now occupied by Dangote Refinery, which the group alleged was compulsorily acquired by the Government without compensation and which the government claimed to have given to Dangote free of charge about nine years ago.

The FOI request was made by De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural organisation, in a letter dated July 29, 2024 and addressed to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, asking him to confirm a recent statement by Alhaji Dangote that he paid $100 million as compensation for the land he acquired for his refinery.

Following government’s failure to respond, De Renaissance Patriots and the Ibeju-Lekki Peoples Forum filed a suit against the government asking the Federal High Court in Lagos to compel the government to respond to Dangote’s claim, asking him to give a detailed account of how the money was collected and what it was used for.

In a statement by its Deputy Executive Director, Mr Ayode Longe, MRA, said: “The FOI Act was enacted to empower citizens to seek information, foster open governance, and ensure that government activities are transparent and accountable to the public.

“The harassment of individuals for legitimately exercising their right under the Act by submitting an FOI request and asking the court to enforce compliance is a direct violation of this right and a disturbing affront to the democratic ideals that Nigeria aspires to uphold.”