Guardian
25 Feb 2011
.Stipulates three-year jail term for offenders
TRUE to their promise, members of the House of Representatives yesterday passed into law the controversial Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill, which had taken on the toga of the nation’s oldest legal instrument before the National Assembly.
The 34-clause bill, which was unanimously passed by the lawmakers present at the session, was immediately transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.
Its passage was preceded by the clause-by-clause consideration as prepared by the House Committee on Information and Orientation as well as the Committee on Justice.
The planned law is however not open-ended as it excluded access to defence issues, cases under investigation by security agencies, and others classified under “national economic interests.”
According to the committee, the bill seeks to provide a right of access to public information or records kept by governments or public institutions or private bodies carrying out public functions for citizens and non-citizens of the country.”
The Executive arm of government and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) praised the Lower Chamber for doing Nigerians proud by passing the bill into law. They noted that the law would promote public accountability and enhance national development.
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