Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in Nigeria

Having access to public information can also mean Freedom of Information. This explicitly refers to a citizen’s right to access information held by public authorities. FOI empowers citizens of a country to have free access to information enabled by legislation. In many countries, this freedom is supported as a constitutional right. Having access to public information can also mean Freedom of Information. This explicitly refers to a citizen’s right to access information held by public authorities. FOI empowers citizens of a country to have free access to information enabled by legislation. In many countries, this freedom is supported as a constitutional right.

FOI empowers citizens to make demands from the government on their activities within the limits of the act, and it also places an obligation on the state to disclose as much as possible the details of its workings as demanded by citizens.

The underlying philosophy of the Freedom of Information according to the NCC is that public servants are custodians of public trust on behalf of a population who have a right to know what they do.

• FOI was passed into law in Nigeria on May 28, 2011, after the longest legislative debate in the history of the country, the debate lasted for over 12 years.
• The bill was developed by the Freedom of Information Coalition, a network of over 180 civil society organisations in Nigeria.

The FOI is aimed at enabling the public to access certain government information so as to ensure transparency and accountability. The act aims to make public records and information more freely available and to protect public records and information in accordance with public interest and protection of personal privacy.

It seeks to protect serving public officers against any adverse consequences from the unauthorized disclosure of certain kinds of official information and to establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes.