Policy Brief

The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act in Nigeria

November 13, 2025
By admin

Introduction

In May, 2011 the Nigerian government passed into law, the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act. The law grants the citizen’s demand for public accountability, transparency and good governance by empowering them with access to public records and information from government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) or private entities holding public records. The FoI Act operationalises the citizen’s right to access information in two ways: the power to request public-interest information and records and the legal standing to seek redress through judicial means in cases the request receives no response as mandated by the Law.

The utilisation of the FoI Act by Nigerian citizens since its enactment has been riddled with challenges even though it’s been in the public domain for more than a decade now. Issues such as ineffective implementation compounded by political interests (and unwillingness of some states to domesticate the law), limited understanding of the Law on the part of government representatives, blatant non-compliance and limited public knowledge about the law stand as challenges to its efficacy.

What’s new?

Recognising the challenges aforementioned, HumAngle Foundation in May, 2024 launched an FoI platform that facilitates citizens’ demand for information and records from MDAs, and equally tracks progress of the requests made. In this way, we contribute to ensuring public accountability, good governance and citizen civic engagement.

We also embarked on public advocacy through radio engagements and in-person sessions with young Nigerians to amplify use of the FoI platform and educate the public on their right to information. These strategic interventions have made HumAngle Foundation realise that the engagement of the women in utilising the FoI Law in Nigeria is significantly low.

This inspired the effort of the Foundation to lead meaningful advocacy campaigns on female-centered FoI engagement, culminating into an All-Female roundtable discussion in October 2024 to get deeper insights on the issue.

In addition, HumAngle Foundation conducted a survey in November 2024. The survey result accorded the Foundation with broader understanding of the engagement of FoI Act amongst the Media and Civil Society organisations in Nigeria.

Key findings

There is limited awareness on the uses of the Act among the public, how to leverage it to access information, and organisations that volunteer support to citizens to engage the FoI Law.
MDAs more often than not, because of their lack of transparency in executing projects and policies, appear reluctant to attend to FoI requests. This non-compliance affects citizens’ trust in the FoI Law.
Some institutions have been found to refer to the Official Secrets Act in places where FoI request is addressed to them to deny the requested information. This clash of the two laws hinders efficient engagement with the FoI Act.
Engagement of the FoI Act by CSOs and the Media is not as robust as it should be for organisations that depend on information and records to enlighten the public.
There is apprehension and concern for safety and human rights violation among journalists and civil society activists demanding records and information from public or private institutions holding public records.
Societal norms and power dynamics has bred gender bias in public institutions and accountability-focused CSOs dominantly led by men. This gender disparity affects the participation of female engagement with the FoI Act.
There is the lack of domestication of the FoI Act in states like Plateau, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Kwara, Imo, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Lagos, Osun, and Ogun. This hampers accessing records and public information by the citizens in those states.
Certain institutions are more responsive to relationship-building and diplomatic engagements than formal FOI requests, viewing such requests as attempts to discredit them.

Why these matter

A survey conducted by HumAngle Foundation in November 2024, with responses from different media and civil society organisations revealed a striking imbalance in engagement with the FoI. This is a law that not only supports accountability and transparency, but will also safeguard public information, record keeping and enhance efficiency in the delivery of public service in Nigeria. It also has the capacity to strengthen citizens’ trust in democracy and governance amidst challenges of unconstitutional regime changes in West Africa. Unfortunately, the survey revealed that only 55.6% of the respondents are ‘somewhat familiar’ with the FoI Law. This can be seen in how the average number of FoI requests sent out in 2024 by the surveyed organisations is just two.

The FoI has dynamic potential. It can be deployed in whatever stream or thematic area citizens and organisations are interested in. It can be used in sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) responses, security and conflict, fiscal advocacy, health and nutrition, environment and climate change, and other development sectors to enhance accountability, evidence-based decisions, strengthen good governance or advocate for policy change. For instance, requesting records on public provisions around SGBV responses, institutions like the NAPTIP, Sexual Assault Referral Centres, Social Welfare Departments and the Ministries of Women Affairs are opened up to public discourse and resources on areas they can improve their services.

What should be done?

It is a core belief of the HumAngle Foundation that the FoI Act has the capacity to foster transparency and accountability in public institutions and improve citizen’s participation in governance. Therefore, this policy brief proffers the following recommendations:

The government should:

Improve dispensation of updated information via the MDA’s websites by creating dashboards, and made accessible to all Nigerians to view public information, thereby reducing the need for sending special FoI requests.
Retrain MDAs staff and build their capacity on public relations in public institutions, streamlining to FoI administration.
Foster inter-agency synergy and multi-stakeholder collaboration for easier generation and transfer of information to minimise delays in responding to FoI requests.
Empower the judiciary to carry out its role of mandated denied requests to be addressed, thereby deterring staff from not attending to FoI requests.
Create a closely-monitored FoI Accountability pipeline where the Attorney General’s office checks organisations that receive FoI requests, ensuring they comply.
The government should facilitate the digitisation of all public records in MDAs to ease retrieval.

Civil Society and the Media should:

Intensify awareness campaigns, mobilisation of the grassroots (especially women, youths and persons with disabilities) and other citizen groups to understand the significance of the FoI Act in promoting public accountability and good governance.
Push for legislation and/ or Supreme Court interpretation of the clauses that appear vague or seemingly irreconcilable with the Official Secrets Act often cited to deny FoI requests.
Implement a robust and strategic gender inclusion advocacy to empower women with a more nuanced understanding of the applicability of FoI in their work and thematic interests.
Increase inter-CSO and inter-media knowledge-sharing and capacity building on the FoI Act to generate more engagement and evidence-based programming.

Conclusion

Accountability and transparency are a recipe for good governance which improve the welfare of the citizens, promote respect for their human rights and forge participatory government that brings positive development. The FoI Act is one of the strongest instruments available in Nigeria to strengthen our democracy. Therefore, efforts have to be galvanised from the public institutions, CSOs, media and the grassroots to ensure proper and adequate engagement with the Act.

Additional Reading/References:

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