By Theophilus Abbah
When the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was signed into law on May 28, 2011, by former President Goodluck Jonathan, it was met with a wave of optimism. It was hailed as a new dawn by media practitioners, civil society, lawyers, and citizens—a long-overdue framework to challenge decades of opacity in governance, empower citizens, and entrench accountability.
The Act granted Nigerians the right to access public records and information. It mandated public institutions to proactively disclose data, protect whistleblowers, designate desk officers, train staff, and submit annual compliance reports. Its spirit was to institutionalise openness and public participation in governance.
Fourteen years later, the law remains largely symbolic, more aspirational than functional. This reality was highlighted in a report presented on May 30, 2025, by the International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), and Media Rights Agenda (MRA). The lead paper, delivered by Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director of MRA—an advocate of FOIA since 1995—exposed the glaring gap between legal promise and actual performance.
The findings were sobering: most public institutions had not fulfilled basic FOIA requirements. Many failed to designate Desk Officers, neglected to publish required information, and didn’t train staff. Worse, only a tiny fraction submitted annual compliance reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation. As Ojo noted, “Data available at the FOI Unit of the Federal Ministry of Justice has consistently put the number of public institutions that have designated FOI Desk Officers at less than 20 per cent of public institutions to which the FOI Act applies, even if we are just looking at federal public institutions.”
The report explained that Section 2 of the Act obliges all public bodies to proactively disclose certain categories of information—regularly updated and accessible even without a formal request. It emphasizes transparency, public awareness, and reduced administrative burdens from repetitive requests.
“There are many good reasons for these requirements,” the report stated, “including ensuring that the information being given to the public is always accurate and reliable… ensuring that members of the public are appropriately informed about laws, policies, decisions and other matters that affect them… and enabling members of the public to know what information each public institution holds.”
Yet non-compliance persists, and this undermines governance. Without information, citizens cannot know which services exist, who is responsible, or how money is spent. FOIA’s anti-corruption and civic empowerment potential is being wasted.
Even though successive Attorneys-General have submitted reports to the National Assembly, they have failed to push for widespread compliance or compel institutions to act. This inaction, according to observers, is either passive neglect or a deliberate tactic to frustrate transparency.
How the FOIA has failed
The report identified several ways in which the FOIA’s implementation failed to meet expectations:
Lack of enforcement and sanctions
No institution or official has ever been penalised for denying access to information, despite such refusals being criminal under the Act. “Even in cases where courts directed the Attorney-General to prosecute offenders, no actions were taken,” the report said. This tolerance has bred impunity.
Loss of public trust
Persistent non-compliance has eroded trust in the law and in public institutions. The failure emboldens corruption, discourages journalism, and weakens democratic accountability. International bodies like the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN Human Rights Council have negatively assessed Nigeria’s record on transparency.
Ineffectiveness of the Attorney-General’s oversight role
Rather than pressuring institutions into compliance, the Attorney-General’s office sometimes defends them in court. “The Attorney-General fails to name and shame non-complying institutions in official reports,” the report noted, thereby enabling violations.
Lack of staff training
The Act requires that public officials receive training to ensure effective implementation. Section 13 states that institutions “must ensure the provision of appropriate training for its officials on the public’s right to access information… and for the effective implementation of the Act.” However, few agencies comply. Outside the Ministry of Justice and a few civil society organisations, there’s little evidence of meaningful capacity-building.
Inadequate budgetary provision
Between 2023 and 2025, only 9 to 13 institutions allocated funds for FOIA-related activities. Without resources, compliance becomes difficult. The Attorney-General claims lack of legal power to impose sanctions, yet no effort has been made to develop administrative sanctions or disciplinary mechanisms for defaulting agencies.
Poor Inter-Agency Collaboration
In 14 years, there has been little coordination between public institutions, oversight bodies, and anti-corruption agencies to enforce FOIA compliance or handle violations. As the report observed, “The law is not being integrated into broader audit, regulatory, and human rights mechanisms.”
Gap between legal rights and practical access
Although the FOIA legally exists, citizens struggle to benefit from it. The framework is strong on paper but weak in practice. The absence of enforcement has rendered the right hollow for many Nigerians.
What must be done
To revitalise the FOIA, the report advocates for a multi-faceted strategy combining enforcement, public awareness, political will, and institutional collaboration.
First, compliance must be mandatory and enforced. Institutions must designate FOI Desk Officers, proactively publish information, train staff, and submit annual reports. Oversight mechanisms should be enhanced, and the Attorney-General should utilize all available legal tools to compel compliance.
Second, public enlightenment is crucial. National campaigns should educate civil society, journalists, and the general public about their rights. The language of the law should be simplified, and its benefits widely showcased to dispel secrecy-driven myths.
Third, civil society and the media must play an active role. Litigation, advocacy, and investigative journalism should be used to hold public institutions accountable. Legal victories should be pursued and publicized to create precedents.
Strategic partnerships involving NGOs, international donors, and training institutions should support tools, workshops, and FOIA-monitoring efforts. According to the report, “Strategic partnerships among government agencies, NGOs, and donor bodies can help scale up training, tools, and monitoring efforts.”
Finally, government must show political will. Without firm leadership and commitment to transparency, the FOIA will remain a toothless law. As the report concluded, “Without a clear message from leadership that transparency is non-negotiable, the FOIA will remain a well-intentioned law crippled by neglect and resistance.”
Abbah, PhD, is the Programme Director at the Daily Trust Foundation, Abuja.