The signing into law of the Freedom of information bill (FIB), By President Goodluck Jonathan, has be applauded and welcomed by many Nigerians.
It will no longer be business as usual, and with the new Freedom of Information Act, the fight against corruption has surely entered into a new era. This is an important step to ending impunity for high level official corruption, which has contributed to serious violations of human rights, including economic and social rights for many years.
The freedom of information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone of all freedoms to which the United Nations is consecrated. This right is entrenched in international and regional human rights treaties and standard guaranteeing the right of everyone to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.
The FOI Act provides every Nigerian with the right of access to official records and information held by public institutions. It imposes a corollary obligation on the government to make such information more freely available and accessible to the public.
The Act also makes it a criminal offence, punishable on conviction with three years imprisonment, for any officer or the head of any government or public institution who destroys or falsifies any official record before it is released.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project believes that freedom of information is necessary for reversing the endemic problem of corruption in the country and establishing an open and transparent government, which is capable of promoting human rights of the citizens. Access to information is a basic right, not a luxury, indispensable to the functioning of a democratic society in which individuals have the opportunity to participate in making the decisions that affect them.
It would also allow individuals to understand decisions made by public authorities that affect their lives, and in some cases to challenge those decisions; improve decision-taking by facilitating greater public debate; promote accountability and transparency in respect of decisions taken by public authorities, including the spending of public money; and ensure the personal probity of political leaders and officials.
President Jonathan should be congratulated for the courage to pass this law, which former President Olusegun Obasanjo repeatedly jettisoned.
Adapted from The Punch