APPRAISING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2011:HIGHLIGHTS AND CRITICISMS

Abstract

Democracy  is  holding  sway  in  every  part  of  the  globe  and  the  duty  of  every  government  is  to  provide  essential services to the people, this is not unconnected with the fact that the State is a social contract between the people and the government as such a relationship exist between the duo in a mutually beneficial way. While rendering services to  the  people,  the  people  reserve  the  right  to  know  or  access  certain  basic  information  that  relates  to  how  the government  is  being  run.  This  is  the  genesis  of  freedom  of  information  which  has  become  an  inherent  right  of  an individual and  recognized  as a  constitutional  right.  In  Nigeria  the  Freedom  of  Information  Act  passed  into  law  in 2011 heralded a new dawn in the press freedom since other laws in existence before it have stifled and gagged the public  from  accessing  public  information.  Most  prominent  among  such  laws  is  the  Official  Secret  Act  of  1962. However,  one  mind  boggling  question  is  that  with  several  exceptional  clauses  in  the  Freedom  of  Information  Act (FOI) 2011, how has it enhance the  freedom refused by  the old existing legal regime? Is it not just a case  of what one  hand  gives  the  other  takes?  This  article  will  critically  examine  the  Constitution  of  the  Federal  Republic  of Nigeria as amended, the freedom ofInformation Act 2011 and other extant laws that exist side by side with the FOI Act to ascertain whether or not there is indeed a freedom of information. The Article is divided into four parts. The introductory  part  which  is  a  voyage  of  discovery  into  thenew  and  existing  legal  framework  on  the  freedom  of information, the second part is an overview giving a limelight of the FOI Act, the third part is an examination of the legal framework, the fourth part is on the journey so far undertaken in the implementation of the FOI Act in Nigeria the  last  one  is  a  conclusion and  recommendation.  The  research  adopts  Doctrinal  methodology  using  Primary  and Secondary sources for analysis.