By Bunmi Yekini
LAGOS – Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has hailed the Supreme Court judgment delivered on Friday affirming that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 applies to all levels of government in Nigeria, describing it as a democratic milestone and a win for transparency and accountability.
In a statement issued in Lagos, MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Ayode Longe, said the apex court’s decision has fortified the legal foundation for open governance and emboldened citizens, journalists, and civil society to demand accountability from public institutions nationwide.
“MRA is obviously pleased by the judgment of the Supreme Court confirming what has always been our position on this issue — that the FOI Act is binding on all public institutions at federal, state, and local government levels,” Longe said. “It is a historic decision that has finally settled this issue and we see it as a resounding victory for transparency, accountability, and the right of every Nigerian to access information.”
According to him, some state governments and institutions had, for over a decade, argued that the FOI Act only applied to federal public bodies because it had not been domesticated at the state level. Longe dismissed those claims as deliberate attempts to evade scrutiny.
“This was obviously a ploy by such state governments to avoid being transparent or accountable,” he said. “The Supreme Court’s judgment brings an end to that long-standing uncertainty, which we believe to have been contrived by state governments that did not want to be accountable.”
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Longe praised the litigants and their legal representatives for their resilience in pursuing the case to its conclusion and also lauded the Supreme Court for upholding the public’s right to know.
He called on all public institutions, especially those at state and local levels, to immediately begin implementing the FOI Act by responding to information requests, publishing proactively disclosed information, designating FOI Desk Officers, and putting in place effective mechanisms for information access.
“Media Rights Agenda calls on all public institutions… to ensure full compliance with the FOI Act,” Longe stated. “We also urge civil society, the media, and citizens to take full advantage of the law to hold governments accountable and play active roles in governance.”
The Supreme Court ruling marks the end of a long-standing debate and is expected to reshape how public information is accessed and managed across Nigeria.