IT will be a tragedy of monumental proportions if we now have the law without making use of it'With this remark, the Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr. Edetaen Ojo recently set the tone for a new citizens' movement on 'information leverage.'For anyone who desires that Nigerians derive the full benefits of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), time to work is now!Most in the vanguard of access to information and openness in therunning of society, would agree with the basic tenets of the FOI Act which task is to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy as well as the protection of serving public officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorisation. The act also establishes the procedures for the attainment of these purposes.But when the MRA head made that remark in Abuja at a workshop for journalists on FOI, he was conscious of the fact that eight months into the enactment of FOI law, any appreciable case where request to valuable information that is of public interest is granted as a result of adherence to the FOI provisions is yet to be recorded.In other words, the law is yet to be really tested. Yet there may exist a plethora of instances where access to information is being denied or where journalists and interested members of the public simply donot know what to do with the law or do not have sufficient faith in the system to think that it would be of any use.Indeed, this reference to the so called Nigerian factor played out on the lips of media practitioners many of whom opened up to say they had never read the Act in spite of the persistent publicity it has been attracting and despite copies of which being daily sold along major streets of the Central Business District (CBD) in Abuja. The reason for this according to one of them is traceable to cynicism.But really would the FOI Act work' How prepared are public institutions to be able to give out specific information within seven days of a request, subject to an extension of same number of days when necessary' Who has the time and resources to take defaulters to court and successfully seek redress of succour' (In the Nigerian FOI, the court of law is the only remedy under the FOI), what if public officers or officers in private concerns that use certain public funds and keep records of value to the public decide to falsify records being sought, does the media or requester have the capacity to detect' And if detected would such still have the energy and perseverance to seek ultimate redress' Have public institutions in Nigeria seen the need to have a desk officer for FOI in anticipation of requests'The Abuja workshop in the end was able to demystify the FOI. Resource persons which included veteran journalists Lanre Arogundade and Tive Denedo supported by programme officer Ayode Longe, ran through sessions that aptly began with understanding the tenets of the Act, its global status, the act of making a request as well as the judicial and non-judicial mechanisms for enforcing compliance with the FOI.Other sessions treated under the Act, had to do with what was referred to as Proactive Disclosures under the Act, the kinds of information exempted from general access, as well as Duties and Obligations of Public Institutions.What can be regarded as a big charge emanating from exchanges at the workshop had to do with a particular provision in the Act over which Journalists in Nigeria need to do follow ups. The provision stipulates that all public institutions are required by law to submit annual reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation. And in this regard, the Attorney-General has up to April 1 to submit to the National Assembly. The annual reports must be submitted on or before February 1 of each year. It has to be noted also that Ifa private organisation is using public funds, it can be 'subpoenaed' under the law of Mandamus.This aside, there are very relevant sections of the Act, which can act as a clear guide. One of these is Section 7, Article 5 which particularly states: 'Where a case of wrongful denial of access is established, the defaulting officer or institution commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000'.Section 8 espouses another with regard to cost wherein it stated 'Fees shall be limited to standard charges for document duplication and transcription where necessary'.Also on destruction or falsification of records, Section 10 of the Act is unambiguous: 'It is a criminal offence punishable on conviction by the court with a minimum of one year imprisonment for any officer or head of any government or public institution to which this Act applies to wilfully destroy any records kept in his custodyor attempts to doctor or otherwise alter same before they are released to any person, entity or community applying for it'Reviewing the various guides for journalists, Ojo's summation at the end of the workshop tallies with that of action seekers to the effect that an active army of journalists and citizens need to emerge in Nigeria to test the FOI law.Stressing that the tragedy of inertia must not happen in Nigeria, Ojo remarked further '...There are global examples from the United Kingdom to the United States and Australia among others where transparency and accountability have been strengthened becausenot only brave journalists but concerned citizens have unearthed facts and public information which in the end propels development in those societies. We need a people's army, a committed crop of citizens and of course journalists to drive the process in Nigeria'According to Ojo, time is now of the essence for all citizens in Nigeria to 'promote and publicize the Freedom of Information Act in order to achieve its stated goals'Drawing strength from the fact that the Act gives every person a legally enforceable right of access to records, documents and information held by public institutions, subject to certain exemptions stated in the Act, he said 'It is a fundamental human right established under international Law. Let us be reminded that the Act creates two offences, each of which attracts different sanction to any public institution which denies a request just as wrongful access to information carries a fine'The Foreign and Commonwealth office through a grant by the British High Commission in Abuja actively supported the capacity building exercise understandably as part of the global support drive for the implementation of the FOI in Nigeria.At the wrap-up session, the Political and Press Secretary at the British High Commission, Mr. Hooman Nouruzi noted that what is key in the FOI Act is implementation 'Good things have been happening to other countries including the UK in the implementation of the Act. It can happen here once the knowledge is disseminated'Maintaining that the coming into force of the Freedom of Information Act is a 'game changer' for Nigeria, Nouruzi restated the position earlier taken by the High Commission's Senior Political Adviser Osaro Odemwingie at the opening of the workshop that the passage of the FOI Act was one of the greatest things to happen to Nigeria, as something that would facilitate transparency in government and bring about accountability in the process.He urged Nigerians not to be discouraged by any initial challenges they may be experiencing in the implementation of the Act, observing that although the United Kingdom had been implementing its own Freedom of Information Act for many years now, it was still struggling with some issues relating to the Act.
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