Mra condemns the call of in the change to change the foi act to punish the alleged “improper use” – Thaage

The Agenda of the Rights of the Media, Mra, condemned the recent appeal of the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (in the), the Dr. Oriji Ogbonnaya Orji, for an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, to impose punitive measures on “false measures”. the act and weaken it.

Mra said that such a proposal is not only poorly conceived but profoundly worrying as it undermines the spirit and purpose of the foi law, which has been issued to ensure a right of access to information, promote transparency and fight the corruption of an increase in a risk, an increase in socials, of a rescue element, of an increase in the scenes of research authors, based on socials, at a risk of insinuations, at a risk of an increase in an increase in an increase in the Socials. Actors, as well as other citizens and members of the public who legitimately seek information. “

The agent of the Mra program, Ayomide Eweje, said in the declaration: “We refuse any narrative that tries to criminalize the exercise of a fundamental right pursuant to sowing to protect public institutions. The appropriate response to the concerns about the abuse of the Foi law, even if these concerns are legitimate, even if these concerns are the currents and the related authorizations, even if the relative authorizations are legitimate and legitimate for the its activities on publications, even if the related authorizations are the relationships in a legitimate way, even if the related authorizations, even if the relative authorizations, even if the related authorizations, even if the relative authorizations, even if the relative authorizations, even if the relative authorizations, even if the relative authorizations are legitimate and legitimate. to which they can be blackmailed. “

He described that Ilogical’s statement in the “False NGOs” had diverted the foi act and were using it to blackmail public institutions, claiming that, since each person has the right to request information pursuant to the law, it is not necessary that no one pretended to represent a non -governmental organization, if false or authentic, to use the law; And that when public officials reveal any information required of them, it is not possible that they can be blackmailed as any information obtained from any public institution pursuant to the Foi law is actually publicly available information and have no blackmail value.

Furthermore, he observed that Eweje, if public institutions have reasons to retain the requested information, cannot also be blackmailed for having denied these requests for information as they are on a solid land, adding “you can complain about blackmail if you have done something wrong”

He observed that blackmail and extortion are already crimes contained in various federal and state laws practically in all the states of the Federation and that there is no conceivable reason why anyone who uses the foi law to blackmail public institutions or officials or to extort money or other favors from them cannot be tried pursuant to existing criminal laws without changing the foi act to introduce crimes.

Ms. Eweje said that it has been particularly disappointing that such a call comes from the head of Neites, an agency created to deepen the responsibility in the extractive sector and strengthen public trust, adding that “the position of Dr. Orji contradicts the global opening standards that he says to support and could damage the credibility of the agency at the local and international level.”

He urged to try to discredit the foi law or weaken it, in the and other public institutions should engage in full compliance with their disclosure obligations pursuant to the law, to build the internal ability to manage foi requests efficiently and quickly and promote a culture of opening as a tool to build public confidence in public institutions and in the general government.

Ms. Eweje said that Mra and her partners in various sectors and stakeholders groups across the country remain committed to defending the Foi law against any attempt to dilute their provisions and the effectiveness or punish citizens and other members of the public for the exercise of their rights pursuant to the law.

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