Addressing the Implementation Challenges of Institutional Obligations and Reporting Requirements under the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act 2011

Abstract

Access to information is critical to the realisation of an accountable government. The enactment of Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act in 2011 ushered in a fresh hope of imminent victory over the culture of secrecy that had always defined the Nigerian public service. The Act provides for public acess to public record and information; obligates public institutions to maintain records and allow public access to information, among other things. It establishes procedures for the achievement of these purposes. This paper examines the institutional and reporting requirements provisions, which constitute part of the goal of the Act to enhance the availability and accessibility of public records and information. The paper finds that, lofty as these provisions are, there are gaps in the law. These gaps include ambiguity in some of the provisions and failure to provide requisite sanctions for noncompliance with certain provisions of the law. There are also the challenges of the pervasive culture of not keeping record by public institutions and lack of sufficient will on the part of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who is the chief implementing officer of the Act, to ensure the success of the goal of the Act. In order to address these challenges, the paper recommends, among others, that the identified gaps be filled, adequate sanctions be provided for noncompliance with relevant provisions of the law while the few sanctions already provided for in the Act should be effectively enforced.