Lagos-based non-governmental organization, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), has appealed against the ruling of Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja calling on the National Assembly to amend the Freedom of Information Act to limit those who can request information under the Law. In a four-ground “Notice of …
Read More »Zambia to Host 2013 Pan African Conference on Access to Information
The Republic of Zambia will from September 25 to 27, 2013 host the second regional ACTION (Access to Information) conference titled Leveraging Continental Developments to Enhance the Adoption of Access to Information Laws in Africa. The conference is being organized by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the …
Read More »Media Rights Agenda hosts FOI Act Implementers Strategy Meeting
LAGOS, Wednesday, September 11, 2013: A two-day Freedom of Information (FOI) Act Implementers Strategy Meeting for civil society organizations engaged in various aspects of FOI work in Nigeria begins in Abuja on Monday, September 16, 2013. Organized by Media Rights Agenda (MRA) with support from the United Nations Development Programme’s …
Read More »ANAN Launches Campaign Against Corruption through Whistle-blowing
The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) has launched a campaign to reduce the incidence of corruption in the country through whistle-blowing. In its campaign adverts, ANAN is calling on people to be agents on change and to blow the whistle, although never in bad faith. It is urging …
Read More »Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) Campaign Launches Documentary on Impunity
Lagos, Wednesday, 21 August 2013: The Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) Campaign, a multi-stakeholder project to check impunity in Nigeria, today in Lagos launched a documentary highlighting the manifestation of impunity in various sectors of the society and its debilitating effect on the country’s social, political and economic development. In his …
Read More »FOI Act: Where His Lordship Got It Wrong
By Edetaen Ojo[1] In a recent ruling, his lordship, Justice Gabriel O. Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja suggested that the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 was somehow defective because it provides in Section 1(2) that an applicant seeking information from a public institution should not be required …
Read More »Press Statement: Judge Calls on National Assembly to Restrict Application of FOI Act
A Federal High Court judge sitting in Abuja, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, has called on the National Assembly to amend the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 to prevent persons who do not need information for specific reasons from applying for such information. The judge said the Act at present had created …
Read More »NGOs Call on Federal Government to Take Urgent Steps to Qualify for Open Government Partnership
Tuesday, July 23, 2013: Three Nigerian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), today called on the Federal Government and its relevant agencies to take urgent steps to comply with the eligibility requirements of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a global initiative launched on 20 September 2011 to secure concrete commitments from governments to …
Read More »National Assembly Drafts Bills for Constitutional Amendment
As part of the ongoing constitution review process, both Chambers of the National Assembly have produced separate draft amendments to the 1999 Constitution. The draft amendments follow hundreds of memoranda submitted by individuals and interest groups as well as a series of public hearings conducted at the national level and …
Read More »Nigerian Government Re-files Criminal Charges Against Leadership Newspaper Journalists
On June 24, 2013, the Nigerian government re-filed criminal charges of alleged forgery against two journalists, Mr. Tony Amokeodo, the Group News Editor; and Mr. Chibuzo Ukaibe, a political correspondent with Leadership newspapers. Government’s lead lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), re-filed the charges having earlier on June 21, 2013 filed an …
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