Alex Enumah in Abuja
A Federal High Court, Abuja, has permitted a civil society organisation to file a judicial review suit against officials of local governments and Abia State executives over their alleged refusal to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on local government allocations in the states and to try alleged violators of the Act.
Justice Ekerete Akpan gave the go-ahead to the applicant, Incorporated Trustees of the Civil Society Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance (CSOCLC), upon concluding that the application has merit.
Justice Akpan subsequently directed the CSO to file and serve the substantive motions for judicial review in the 19 suits against Abia State LGAs and others.
The suits arose from a series of FOIA requests submitted by the lead counsel to the CSO, Nnamdi U. Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, to the 17 LGs in Abia State and several state and federal agencies seeking detailed records of their revenue allocations and their utilisation.
The CSO said the requests sought information on monthly funds from the Federation Account Allocations Committee (FAAC), VAT receipts, budgets, procurement records, audit reports, expenditure schedules, bank account details and bank statements relating to the finances of the councils.
Joined in the suit as respondents were the Chairman, Abia State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Accountant General of Abia State, Deaconess Njum Uma-Onyemenam; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Abia State, Agatha Obichiakwalam; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abia State, Lady Oge Maduka; Secretary to the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Rashida Jumoke Monguno; the Accountant General of the Federation, Dr Shamseldeen B. Ogunjimi.
Others joined in the suit included the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Yetunde Oni.
Among other demands by the CSO were “a declaration that the failure/refusal of the 1st to 6th Respondents to furnish the information requested by the Applicant in its FOIA requests constitutes a deemed refusal and a flagrant violation and breach of the Applicant’s rights under the FOIA and the Constitution.
“A declaration that the 1st to 6th Respondent’s wrongful denial of access to the information requested by the Applicant constitutes an offence under Section 7 (5) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 and that each of the 1st to 6th Respondents is liable on conviction to a fine of five Hundred Thousand Naira only (N500,000.00).
“An order of mandamus directing the honourable Attorney-General of the Federation (7th Respondent) to initiate or cause the initiation of criminal proceedings against the defaulting 1st to 6th Respondents for the criminal offence created under Section 7 (5) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 within seven (7) days of the grant of the order of mandamus by the honourable court.
“An order awarding the sum of N20 million as exemplary damages against each of the 1st to 6th Respondents, severally in favour of the Applicant. An order awarding the sum of N10 million as costs of this action against each of the 1st to 6th Respondents, severally in favour of the Applicant.”
