Anti-corruption coalition decries abuse of FOI Act

A coalition of civil society organizations fighting against corruption in Nigeria, Citizens Voice Against Corruption (CIVAC) has decried the abuse of the use of Freedom Of Information Act by some unscrupulous civil society organisations and individuals for personal gains.

A Lead Convener of Citizens Voice Against Corruption (CIVAC) Comrade Abdulrazaq Alkali lamented this in a keynote address at a Stakeholder Roundtable Discussion on Freedom of Information (FOI) Act Implementation and Challenges in Nigeria held on Thursday, in Abuja, in collaboration with Freedom of Information Coalition in Nigeria (FOICIN).

Solacebase reports that Nigeria is among more than ninety countries in the world and among the eleven countries in Africa to pass the Freedom of information act.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act was signed on the 28th of May 2011 by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Comrade Alkali said the Act which was intended to make government agencies and partner private entities to function with more transparency and accountability so that the public could easily identify problems in government functions and demand government officials to address them is presently facing a serious challenge of abuse and misuse.

‘’It is somewhat unfortunate that presently in Nigeria, the FOI Act is been ‘misused’ to generate stories that betray the greater truth. Certain actors especially unscrupulous civil society organisations and individuals in the society have been abusing this right, by accessing vital state information and using it in such a manner to misguide the public or blackmail government officials, institutions and private business entities, ‘’said Comrade Alkali.

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‘’This law has, on many occasions been misused at court levels to stonewall public projects through the stay of execution order and shady out of court settlements. We at CIVAC observed that this behaviour are on the increase, and deeply concerned that it is against the greater interest of the public and country at large.’’

‘’We can all agree that the existing version of FOI Act is serving its intended purpose by making public records and information available to citizens, but at the same time allowing unscrupulous elements especially some evil civil society organisations to weaponised it and use in a manner that threatens the confidence of our institutions, perpetrates all sorts of corruption, extortion, blackmail and demeaning our democracy gesture. ‘’

He said with the current happenings, it is with a greater desire that the Nigerian Government in consultation with other stakeholders in the legislative arm and civil society should consider reviewing and introducing changes to limits on the scope of the FOI Act so as to provide sanity on how public information is access and used or processed.

On his part, a Co-convener Comrade Princewill Okorie said the event is to provide an organized platform for citizenships participation in the fight against corruption by ensuring that the credibility of Freedom of Information  Act, its implementing institutions and civil society participants in its implementation are maintained to sustain the confidence and cooperation of Nigerian people.

He decried the situation that some civil society organizations who apply the provisions of the FOI to get information turn around to criminally use the information to harass and extort money or even go to the extent of frustrating execution of projects.

‘’It is our intention to stop this negative development perpetrated by some CSOs. Hence, we encourage victims of such criminal harassment and extortion to bring it to our attention.  This is part of our mediation role between the people and the government. It is part of our policy advocacy responsibility.’’ ‘’It is our voice raising approach meant to raise issues for implementation of Freedom of Information Act to enhance good governance.’’