Implementation of the access to information law in Nigeria
Posted: 24 June, 2024 Filed under: Jacob O Arowosegbe | Tags: Access to Information Act, activism, civil society organisations, compromising democratic stability, freedom of expression, Freedom of Information Act, military regimes, nationwide protests, NFOIA, Nigeria, Nigerian 1999 Constitution, restrict access, right of access to information, rule of law, sanctions, system of security Leave a comment
Author: Jacob O Arowosegbe
Solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Introduction
Implicit in the guarantee for freedom of expression under section 39(1) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution[1] is the right to receive and disseminate information and since this right is meaningless without a corresponding right to freedom of access to information, the latter is by implication granted. The right is, however, superseded by the constitutional recognition of the right of the government to restrict access to certain information confidentially received or which it considers prejudicial to public security, order, health, and morality.[2] An example of a law enacted to restrict access to government-held information is the Official Secrets Act, 1962.[3] Under the Act, virtually any information only needs to be placed under a system of security classification currently in use to deny members of the public access to it.[4] Public officials are in fact routinely required to keep sealed lips concerning the conduct of government business.
Freedom of expression: Hopes, anxieties and skepticism in Liberia’s nascent democracy
Posted: 2 August, 2018 Filed under: Urias Teh Pour | Tags: constitution, Criminal Libel laws, decriminalise free speech, ECOWAS Treaty, free speech, freedom of expression, Freedom of Information Act, George Manneh Weah, human rights, ICCPR, Konate v. Burkina Faso, Liberia, Liberian Football legend, Ministry of Information, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, newly elected Governmen, Penal Law, Table Mountain Declaration, UN Human Rights Committee 3 Comments
Author: Urias Teh Pour
Legal Advisor on the Liberia Law Society Land Rights and Freedom of Expression Projects
The recent move to repeal Liberia’s Criminal Libel laws by the newly elected Government of former Liberian Football legend, George Manneh Weah, has been hailed by human rights groups as a positive step in the right direction. The effort to decriminalise section 11.11 of the Penal Law comes barely two months following the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to Liberia. The UN Officials called on the Government of Liberia to review all laws that undermine free speech, as guaranteed by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other instruments ratified by Liberia.
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