Freedom Of Information

The Freedom of Information Act, 2011 was signed into Law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on May 28, 2011 and came into force that same day. The purpose and objectives of the Act, as stated in its preamble, are;

a. To make public records and information more freely available;

b. To provide for public access to public records and information;

c. To protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy;

d. To protect serving public officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of officials information without authorization;

e. To establish procedures for the achievement of these purposes and for other related matters.

The passage of the Freedom of Information Act fills a huge gap which hitherto existed in the legal framework for citizen's access to information held by public officers, authorities and institutions in Nigeria.