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 The right is, however, superseded by the constitutional recognition of the right of the government to restrict access to certain information confidentially received or which it considers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.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso’s withdrawal from ECOWAS: The Revised ECOWAS Treaty and withdrawal with ‘immediate effect’
Posted: 5 March, 2024 Filed under: Marko Svicevic | Tags: Authority of Heads of State and Government, Burkina Faso, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS withdrawal, immediate effect, Liptako-Gourma Charter, Mali, military coups, military interventions, military takeovers, Niger, regional peace, sanctions, security, Sovereignty, suspended, treaty law framework, withdrawal Leave a comment
Author: Marko Svicevic
Lecturer and Researcher, Centre for International Humanitarian and Operational Law, Faculty of Law, Palacky University, Olomouc
On 28 January 2024, the military leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso simultaneously announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with ‘immediate effect’. Although the move is not all too surprising given rising tensions between the bloc and the three States, it is a historical and significant development in the region. All three States were suspended from ECOWAS following military takeovers; and they had faced varying degrees of sanctions in the last three years.
AfricLaw 