Does the Nigeria Freedom of Information Act protect whistleblowers?

One interesting part of the Nigeria Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is that it will protect public officers who disclose information to the public (Section 27).

What kind of protection would be given? The FOI Act bans any legal action (criminal or civil proceedings) against any public officer who shows information to the public despite the consequences it might have on the organisation. Also, it bans any public officer from facing any legal action for giving out information without permission as long as the officer believes that the information shows;

·  violation of any law;

·  mismanagement, gross waste of funds, fraud and abuse of authority or;

·  a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

Is this protection sufficient for whistleblowers? The answer is NO. While the FOI Act to some extent protects whistleblowers in the public sector by removing legal obstacles that affect public disclosure of information, it is still not enough.

Why? It only protects employees in the public sector from facing legal actions when they give out information. It does not protect them from issues such as dismissals, suspensions or demotions as a result of making a public disclosure. It would be necessary to have a comprehensive whistleblower law that protects whistleblowers from dismissals or suspensions. It would also be necessary to broaden the range of protection to include the private sector.

Nigeria Freedom of Information law: what does this mean for Nigeria?

The Nigeria Freedom of Information (FOI) law will usher in a new era. If well implemented, it will change the way government conducts its business. Some key provisions in the law would mean the following:

• Anyone has the right to access public records. This would empower all Nigerian citizens to effectively track government activities. It would enable Nigerians to hold government accountable when necessary particularly in the event of misappropriation of public funds or failure to deliver public services.

• Government agencies are required to keep records and publish all information regarding its activities, operations and business. They are also mandated to widely disseminate this information through various means including print, electronic and online sources. This would compel government agencies to publish and widely disseminate information such as its accounts (budgetary allocations and expenditures) thereby making government agencies to be more accountable to the people. It would also ensure more transparency in the management of oil revenues such as the Sovereign Wealth Fund;

• Anyone has the right to challenge any government agency that refuses to grant access to information and have it reviewed by the court. More interesting is the punishable offence given to any public officer or public institution that wrongfully denies an applicant access to information. Such an officer or public institution would be liable to pay a fine of N500, 000 (about $3,200 USD) if convicted; and

• Prohibits any public officer or public institution to purposely destroy or falsify public records. It is a criminal offence and if convicted by the court, would be subject to a minimum of 1 year imprisonment.

The time limit for granting access to information was missing from the Act obtained from the National Assembly website [http://www.nassnig.org/nass/acts.php?pageNum_bill=9&totalRows_bill=151]. Hopefully this is a mistake and the provisions should not have changed much from the earlier harmonised version of the bill. The harmonised version of the bill states that information should be made available to applicants within 7 days of making the application. If this is the same as the signed copy or if a definite time limit is present in the signed copy of the Act, then the FOI law would be a very strong law. 

Nigeria gets Freedom of Information law

President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to transform Nigeria during his inauguration. He has started keeping to his promise by signing the Freedom of Information bill into law [http://allafrica.com/stories/201106010269.html]. This is a welcome development and shows commitment from the new government to improve governance in Nigeria. The Freedom of Information law would enable Nigerian citizens to have easy access to public records. This would make it easier to effectively scrutinise government activities particularly in the management of public funds. Congratulations to the Media Rights Agenda and other civil society organisations who have worked very hard in the last 10 years to get the Freedom of Information Bill passed into law.