FOI Bill: Senate prescribes 3 yrs jail term for offenders

COSMAS EKPUNOBI, Abuja

Daily Champion, Thursday, November 16, 2006

THE much awaited Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill seeking to make public documents easily available on request was passed by the Senate yesterday after several years of deliberations.

If assented to by President Olusegun Obasanjo, the bill prescribes a maximum three-year jail term for any head of government institution who attempts to destroy or doctor record in his custody or refuses to make same available on request.

Also yesterday, the Senate nullified the "best governor award" recently conferred on Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyema by a private organisation.

However the passage of the bill, followed adoption of the report of the Senate adhoc committee on Freedom of Information Bill.

Under the new law, any person entitled to the right of access to information may institute proceedings in a court to compel the head of any government institution or public body to comply with the provision of the bill.

According to the bill, "every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a legally enforceable right to and shall on application be given access to any record under the control of a government or public institution."

Section 2 of the Bill reads: any applicant herein need not demonstrate specific interest in the information being applied for.

Briefing Senate Correspondents, chairman of the adhoc committee Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba explained that the bill has substantially addressed some of the problems occasioned by the official secret Act.