BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY, MAKURDI

BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY, MAKURDI POST GRADUATE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION EGERE NICHOLAS OMUON BSU/MAC/M.Sc/12/6474 COURSE CODE/TITLE COM 702 BROADCAST SEMINAR TOPIC: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT IN NIGERIA COURSE LECTURER: DR. MICHAEL KOMBOL FEBRUARY, 2014 1

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT IN NIGERIA Introduction The subject of freedom and responsibility of an issue that societies have continued to address at various time in history. And, it is not likely to end in our time or be restricted to the mass media of our country; because, so long as society exists, people exert their freedom which would naturally attract corresponding responsibility. In every simple term, freedom cannot be separated from responsibility be it in politics, the media, family and other aspect of human endeavors. The inextricable linkage between freedom and responsibility and public safety is exceedingly pronounce in diverse multicultural and democratizing society like Nigeria where weaknesses in social structures, endemic poverty and high literacy can have definitive impact on interpersonal and group dynamics, many a time negatively and dangerously. In Nigeria, like in many other countries with a liberalized media system, the mass media has being continuously reminded, in fact, professionally require all ways seek to balance their generous freedom to gather, process and disseminate information with a high level of responsibility to the various constituencies. By their nature, the mass media require high level of freedom to be able to perform optimally and respond to the desire of increasingly heterogeneous. 2

Thus, this paper focuses on maintaining the required delicate balancing the enforcement, protection and promotion of high level of professional media freedom and the upholding of the obligatory concept and practice of social responsibility. Simply, media freedom connotes the unhindered performs of the media and its professional in the task of collecting, processing and disseminating information professionally judged to be in the public interest. Media freedom suggest absence of censorship, fear-hidden or visible threats, economic impediments, political pressure or any other impediment that may impair the operational capacity of the system to deliver professionally and to the satisfaction of both the media personnel and the audience. The Nigeria constitution has clearly granted the media some level of independence to keep the structures of governance accountable to the people. What can the media give in return for this generous freedom it s enjoyed from the society? Conceptual Clarification 1. Freedom of the Press: The word press means all the media of mass communication, although the printed media, as the oldest, is treated as the exemplar in most discussions. Freedom of the press according to Bollinger (1991) means the right to publish news, magazines, and other printed materials without governmental restriction and subject to the law of libel, obscenity, sedition, etc. it could also means the right to broadcast through electronic media, without prior restraints (Campbell, 1994). In summary, it is the right of confidentiality of sources, and a right to access 3

information. Not only is it important to see the press as an integrated part of the freedom of expression, but also as part of the system of a system of social control whereby relationships between individuals and social institution are mediated. Historically and considering freedom of the press, it functioned as the mouth piece of the few who directed the opinions of the common people. 2. An Overview of Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria: With the military system of government becoming very unpopular throughout the world and democracy becoming the order of the day, there has being increasing acceptance of human right and in particular freedom of expression. For a country like Nigeria that has witnessed decades of military rule where press freedom was restricted, it came as a relief when freedom of information was signed into law. Virtually all government information in Nigeria is classified as top secret. Longe Ayode media rights Agenda (MRA), a Lagos based Non Governmental Organization (N.G.O), says this veil of secrecy makes it difficult to get information from any agencies of government. (Ayode, 2011). Pletharo of law prevent civil servants from divulging official and figures, notably the official secrets acts which makes it an offence not only for civil servant to give out government information but also for anyone to receive or reproduce such information. Further restriction are contain in the evidence Act, the public complaints Act commission, the statistic Act and Criminal Code among others. Adekele (2011), says that the idea behind this law is too ridiculous 4

that some classified government files contain ordinary information like newspaper cuttings which are already in the public domain, so impenetrable is the veil of secrecy that government departments withhold information from each under the guise of official secrets legislation. There are also instances were civil servants refuse to give the national assembly information even when they are ask to do so. The results of this that journalist are denied access to information that is critical for accurate reporting, and unraveling the web of corruption in Nigeria. These issues motivated Edetaen Ojo along with other relevant N.G.O s to initiate the bill that has become freedom of information Act. 3. Prospect of Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria: The denial of access of information and the attendant widespread ignorance in the society does more harm in the society than any harm that could possibly arise from granded access to member of the public. Analyst have identify that the freedom of information Act is a vital tool to ensure democracy and responsible government in Nigeria. This is because it will curb executive, judicial and legislative recklessness. The rot in government will start to be made known just as we are being duly informed of the rot on mismanagement of fuel subsidy. Although the media deals with information more than any other segment of the society, the freedom of information Act is not a law for the Nigerian media alone. Rather, it is a law that guarantees a right of access of information to everyone 5

in the country as such, places enormous responsibility on those who holds information (Avogundade, 2012) with the information Act in practice, there will be openness, transparency, good governance thereby complementing government s a vowed commitment to stepping out corruption in Nigeria, and in particular, will assist various government agencies such as the offence commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the code of conduct bureau and code of conduct tribunal, as well as security and other law enforcement agencies, in the performance of their duties (Enonche, 2011). Enouche is also of the opinion that the freedom of information Act will enhance the speedy dispensation of justice, especially when complemented with whistle blowers Act. This is because the law will facilitate the investigation of cases by the law enforcement agencies and make it possible to secure the cooperation of witnesses. He further stated that the Act will strengthen the democratic process as it will make it possible for citizens to hold their government accountable and be involved in all facets of policy formation and implementation. This will trigger a number of social changes which will be a catalyst for more rapid and economic development. 4. Challenges of Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria: In this discussion the act and its challenges, several questions need to be addressed including the following; 6

i. Should the public know everything? ii. If the answer to the question is no, what are the exceptions? iii. Are there other laws or regulations in place which prevent public Institution to disclose details of their activities, operations and business? There are always limitations to what can be accessed in the operation of freedom of information, even in developed countries where freedom of information has been practice for so long. This type of information must have being taken care of in the bill and there are always in few cases. In Nigeria, the case is different as the freedom of information act, according to Ogbuokiri, (2011). Contain more exemption sections and clauses than section that grand information to people. This means that some mischievous officers can use this section for unjust and mischievous purposes. For instance, Ogbuokiri added that only section 1 and 3 grand access to information; but as many as ten sections 7, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 26 are meant to deny the public access to information. Another fundamental issue that will affect the freedom of information Act is the Act in some laws that are still operational in Nigeria. For instance we have the official Act, Evidence Act, the Public Complaints Act, Economic and Crime Commission Act, all this are there to hinder the flow of freedom of information of 7

right to access of information for their selfish purposes just like what happened in UK parliament in 2009. Members of the UK parliament (MPs) had me sued the permitted allowances and also claimed some unlawful expenses: members now bank on freedom of information legist ration to prevent disclosure of the atrocity. Though the freedom of information legislation was negated (because of some sections in their freedom information status that mollified the freedom of information legislation) and the issue subsequently published by the telegraph group in 2009, it would have being a different thing it was in Nigeria. There are the challenges of complying with the FIA. Some of these include poor culture of record keeping/maintenance and retrieval, capacity challenge in many public institutions, frustrating and time consuming bureaucracy in public service as well as widespread corruption and the high level of ignorance. Theoretical Framework: Social Responsibility Theory Robert Hutchins (the head of Hutchins commission in the freedom of the press) once said that freedom requires responsibility Morozoff (1991). If the press will be free to publish anything, it behooves on them to accept responsibility for whatever is published. This seminar paper focuses on press freedom and agrees that freedom has a great responsibility behind it. In such a case, the best theory that will be 8

appropriate for this study is the social responsibility theory. The theory is an off-shot of the libertarian theory and was propounded by F.S Siebert, T.B Peterson and W. Schramm in 1963. Historically, social responsibility theory owes its origin to the Hutchins Commission on freedom of the press, set up in United State of America in 1947 to examine the concept of press freedom. The commission worked hard at developing what has become social responsibility theory. This theory according to Christian (2004) reflected a dissatisfaction with the media, owners and operators and the way they distributes media while also accepting the following principles: the press should service the political system, enlighten the public, safeguard the liberty of the individual, service the economic system, entertain the public (provided that the entertainment is good), and maintain its own financial self sufficiency. The commission saw the social responsibility theory has being a safeguard against totalitarianism. Hutchins goal was to make the owners of the mass media or press responsible and still maintain freedom of the press. In this same light, Siebert, Peterson and Schramm (1956). Warn the power and near monopoly of the press impose on them an obligation to be socially responsible, to see that all side are faily presented and that the public have enough information to decide; and that if the media do not take on themselves such responsibility it may be necessary for some other agencies of the 9

public to enforce it. Freedom of expression under the social responsibility theory. One s right of freedom of expression must be balance against the other and against vital social interest. Research Objectives The rationale behind this study is to thus: i. To see that media accept and fulfill certain obligation to the society. ii. That through professional standard of in formativeness, truth, objectivity and balance, these obligations can be met. iii. That media should regulate itself within the framework of law and established institution to be able to carry out its responsibilities. iv. That whatever might lead to crime, violence, civil disorder, or offence to minority groups, should be avoided by the media. v. That the media should reflect its society s plurality, given access to various points of view and granting all the right to reply. vi. Based on the principle, the society has the right to expect high standard of performance from the media, intervention can only justify securing public good. vii. Accountability of media professional should be to the society, employers and the market. With the above principles, it is glaring that, the freedom carries obligations, and the Nigerian press, which now 10

enjoy a privilege position under the new freedom of information Act, is obliged to be responsible to Nigerians in caring out certain functions of mass communication. For example, it will not be socially responsible for any Nigerian media (despite the present of (FIA) to have reported how 25 th December, 2009, Umar Farouk Adulmultalab, used some methods, evaded security measures and smuggled a bomb in his underpants into an American Airline. Research Questions i. Is the media really at hearing to its obligation of social responsibility it owners the public? ii. The objectivity, accurateness and fairness as part of the journalistic profession, is it truly demonstrated by the members of the press? iii. To which extent is the media really free to discharge their duties in a manner the society want them to? iv. Is the public included in the right of freedom of expression? Review of Related Literature Freedom of information, access of information held by public authorities is a fundamental element of the right to freedom of expression and vital to the proper functioning of democracy. It is an Act that makes provision for the disclosure of information held by public authorities or by persons providing services for them. 11

Robert, (2000). This means that Act enable one to see a wide range of public information because it gives the right to ask any public body for information they have on any subject. According to the media right Agenda (2011), this Act make information and public records more freely available, provide the public access for public information, protect public access to information to the extent consisting with the public interest and protection of personal privacy, protect public serving officer from advent consequences for disclosing certain kind of information with authorization and established procedures for the achievement of those purposes and; for related matters. In a country were freedom of information Act is in operational, anyone can make a request for information at all, but some information might be withheld to protect various interest which is allowed for by the Act. If this is the case, the public authority should tell you why they have withheld such information. According Bard (2001), unless there is a good reason, the organization must provide the information within seven (7) working days. In a democratic world, the public is expected to have access to information (particular through the media) not only on how they are governed but on anything that has interest to the individual or group. This is what the Act is all about. Until recently, the right to freedom of information in Nigeria has being overlooked. While many established democracies across the world has enacted freedom of information 12

regime, Nigeria (had before now) regarded freedom of information has Luxury only practicable in the western world and other established democracies Ekumo (2001). He asserted that a culture of secrecy has become entrenched in Nigeria government and members of the public including the media are denied access to official information, which in a democracy they should be entitled to. The breakdown in the flow of information impair the democratic process and slows the economic and social development as citizens are unable to participate effectively in the process of government, make informed choices about who should governed them and properly scrutinizes official to ensure corruption is avoided. Government officials themselves fail to benefit from the public input which will ease their decision or improve their decision. Also without accurate information on matters of public interest. Citizens must rely on rumors and unconfirmed report with the obvious danger this present for accurate and objective reporting by the media. Related of Empirical Work Historically, the freedom of information in Nigeria could be traced back to 1993 during the regime of Gen. Sani Abacha in which transparent government was not the order of the day. Edetaen Ojo, head Media Right Agency (M.R.A) a young organization for the defence of free expression right, Civil Liberties Organization 13

(C.L.O), and the Nigerian Union of Journalist (N.U.J) Lagos branch spearheaded the drafting Freedom of Information Bill (F.I.B). The draft went through several reviews before it was presented to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in early June 1999, with the hope that the FIB will be forwarded to the National Assembly as an executive measure. He declined advising the (M.R.S) instead to do so if they wished. The bill was then submitted to national assembly in 1999 as advised by Olusegun Obasanjo but the legislature four years passed before the bill being voted on. The bill was resubmitted after the present national assembly was inaugurated a few years ago, it sealed through both the lower and upper chamber of national assembly and the harmonized version was passes by the two chambers on May 26, 2011. It was convered to Goodluck Jonathan on 27 and he signed on May 28, 2011. So far only two state in Nigeria namely; (Ekiti and Lagos state) have adopted the freedom of information Act at state level but have extended the respond date at state level from 7 days to 14 days (Ogbuokiri, 2011). Prior to signing this bill to law, access to information especially of hybrid public authorities was no go area for the journalist. People view some information as been sacred with the belief that it was not meant for public consumption. Journalist or media house that have at one point in time exercise their rights on issues bordering on sacred information have clearly paid for it. There have case 14

of assault on journalist, arbitrary detention and mass confiscation of news papers. It is hoped that adequate and correct information will start to make public with the passage of F.I.B. The newly enacted freedom of information Act according to Ene (2012): i. Guarantees the right of access of information held by the public institutions, irrespective of the form in which it is keep and is applicable to private institution where they utilize public funds, perform public function or private public service. ii. Requires all institutions to proactively disclose information about their structure and processes and mandate them to build the capacity of their staff to effectively implement and comply with the provision of the Act. iii. Provide protection for whistle blowers. Conclusion The recently passed freedom of information has being said to be right, that enables members of the Nigerian public to have access of information held by government bodies, because of this, it is now recognized as fundamental human right to which Nigerians are entitled to. 15

The public is entitle to truth, and only correct information can formed the basis for sound journalism and ensure the confidence of the people. As the forth esteem of the realm, the effect of journalism has undoubtedly has a spiral effect on the entire society for the benefit all. The success of the implementation of F.I.A is the co-responsibility of both the government ( supply side ) and the govern ( demand side ). The demand side which in the citizens, civil society and community organizations, media and the private sector must take responsibility for the law as well as monitoring government efforts. The attitudes of public administrators are critical for the successful implementation of the Act because public administrators, who are the face of government, will determined the quality of, and access to information. Recommendation Having brought to perspective the challenges of the newly signed freedom of information Act in Nigeria, it is important to give the following recommendations. i. The freedom of information Act need to be retrieved so that about 10 section of the law which dwells on non-disclosure of information will be looked into. ii. It is advised that the federal government and its agencies should take step to ensure necessary regulations or procedures are put in place for the effective implementation of the Act. For instance the Attorney 16

General of the Federation (A.G.F) should ensure that regulation for the implication of this Act is gazette. iii. More campaign need to be done to increase the level of awareness of the public freedom of information Act. The media as a core partner should increase public awareness and understanding of the Act. iv. It must still be emphasized that is the responsibility of all Nigerians to carry out the over sight function of ensuring compliance to the provision of the Act and not that of the national assembly alone. 17

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