Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has strongly condemned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. George Akume’s statement threatening to imprison government officials who divulge information without authorization.
George Akune made the statement during a workshop organized in Abuja on July 2, 2024 by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms and the Office of the Government of the Federation, where he warned that unauthorized leakage of sensitive official documents would be treated as a felony, and claimed that no defence for such action exists in the Constitution or Freedom of Information Act.
Responding to the SGF’s statement, the Deputy Executive Director of MRA, Mr. Ayode Longe, criticized the SGF’s allegation against civil society organizations (CSOs) as “false and illogical.”
Mr. Longe highlighted that Mr. Akume’s accusation that CSOs use the Freedom of Information Act to “harass, intimidate and siphon resources from public officers through the dissemination of fake and unfounded information” is baseless.
He argued that unless the SGF is saying that when CSOs apply to public institutions for information using the FOI Act, they are given “fake and unfounded information” in response, we do not see how his accusation can be remotely true, adding that we also do not see how requesting information under a valid and subsisting Law passed by the National Assembly for that purpose and assented to by the President can amount to harassment, intimidation or siphoning resources from public officers.
He further called on Mr. Akume to substantiate his allegations, noting that the SGF apparent aversion to transparency and accountability should not lead him to mischaracterize the FOI Act or falsely accuse CSOs that have merely exercised the right granted to them and all others by the Act.
Mr. Longe expressed his disappointment at the SGF’s “profound ignorance of the FOI Act,” stating, “We respectfully call on him to familiarize himself with the provisions and intent of this legislation in order to avoid further embarrassment to the Government he represents.”
The Deputy Executive Director of MRA added that the SGF would face a significant challenge in attempting to prosecute any government official for unauthorized disclosure of information in light of Section 27(2) of the FOI Act.
This section protects whistleblowers and clearly states that no public officer shall be prejudicially affected for disclosing information they reasonably believe to show mismanagement, fraud, abuse of authority, or a danger to public health or safety, regardless of whether such information was disclosed under the provisions of the Act. The section further states that no civil or criminal proceeding shall lie against any person receiving or further disclosing such information.
Mr. Longe noted the SGF’s fixation on secrecy rather than good governance as unhelpful to both the citizens and the Government itself.
He suggested that “Perhaps, if the Government was formulating and implementing policies and actions that are resulting in tangible benefits to citizens, it would not be so concerned about its decisions and actions becoming public knowledge.”
He advised the SGF to focus on ensuring the Government engages in policies and actions that benefit citizens rather than things the Government appears ashamed of.
Additionally, he argued that whistleblowers are critical to the proper functioning of public institutions and pointed out that “The protection of whistleblowers is now a global priority and the SGF would find himself in a face-off not just with Nigerian civil society but also with the international community should he attempt to prosecute any official for disclosing information that reveals corruption, mismanagement of funds, fraud, waste of public resources, abuse of power, or any other wrongdoing.”