The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has faulted the recent call by the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, for an amendment to the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, to impose punitive measures on “fake CSOs” allegedly “misusing” the law to blackmail public institutions, describing the call as an attempt to discredit the Act and weaken it.
MRA in a statement issued in Lagos said such proposal was not only ill-conceived but deeply troubling as it undermined the spirit and purpose of the FOI Act which was enacted to guarantee a right of access to information, promote transparency and combat corruption.
They added that suggesting punitive measures based on vague, subjective and unsubstantiated claims of ‘misuse’ poses a huge risk of the Act becoming a tool for silencing journalists, researchers, civil society actors, as well as other citizens and members of the public who legitimately seek information.
MRA’s programme officer, Ms Ayomide Eweje, said in the statement, “We reject any narrative that seeks to criminalise the exercise of a fundamental right under the guise of protecting public institutions.
‘’The appropriate response to concerns about abuse of the FOI Act, even if such concerns are legitimate, is institutional transparency, including routine compliance with the Act by all public institutions to ensure its effective implementation and rigorous enforcement of the current mechanisms for ensuring compliance so that no public institution or official is put in a vulnerable position where they can be blackmailed.”
She described as illogical NEITI’s claim that “fake NGOs” had hijacked the FOI Act and were using it to blackmail public institutions, arguing that since every person has a right to request information under the Act.
‘’There is no need for anyone to pretend to be representing a non-governmental organisation, whether fake or genuine, in order to use the Act and that when public officials disclose any information requested from them, there is no way they can be blackmailed as any information that is obtained from any public institution under the FOI Act is effectively information that is publicly available and has no blackmail value,’’ she said.
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