Brave Dickson
A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has fixed June 19 and 26, 2019 to entertain suits brought by Mr Mark Lenu against the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT; University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH; Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC; Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP and Rivers State University over the refusal of the aforesaid public institutions to honour the applicant’s requests in pursuance of the FoI Act 2011.
Although, the suit against the Rivers State University is yet to get its hearing date.
Mr Lenu, in exercising his right as enshrined in section one of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 made the following requests to the under listed public institutions-
1) Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project:
“The approved budget for the contract or contracts awarded in 2017 and 2018 for Ogoni clean up.
“And the approved budget of the agency for 2017 and 2018,” among others.
2) University of Port Harcourt:
“The total sum received from regular students, post graduate students and pre-degree students as tuition fees for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic sessions.
“The unspent amount remitted to the Federal Government from the allocations received by the school for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 sessions.
“And the actual amount paid in salaries and allowances to teaching and non teaching staff of the school in 2017 and 2018,” among others.
3) Niger Delta Development Commission:
“The budget approved by NDDC for scholarship grants for foreign students of Niger Delta extraction for their post tertiary academic training for the period of 2017 and 2018.
“And the sum spent on each of the beneficiaries and the total sum spent on the programme between 2017 and 2018,” among others.
4) University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital:
“Allocations received from the Federal Government for salaries and allowances of staff for 2017 and 2018.
“And unspent amount remitted to the Federal Government from the allocation received by the hospital from the Federal Government for 2017 and 2018,” among others.
However, facts as contained in the plaintiff’s request to the Rivers State University were yet to be available to TPCN news desk as at the time of filing in this report.
The applicant having patiently waited to receive the said information or in writing by the affected public institutions showing course as to why the information will not be available within seven days of the application as stipulated by the Act had no other option than to seek judicial interpretation in courts.
Mr Lenu is now asking the courts to determine whether he is entitled to receive the information he requested from the public institutions in pursuance to section one of the FoI Act 2011.
And that whether the failure or refusal of the public institutions to furnish him with the information he requested for was not a violation of his right as guaranteed by section 4 (a) of the FoI Act 2011.
Mr Lenu now plaintiff in the suits therefore sought the following reliefs before the court:
“A declaration that the plaintiff is entitled to receive the information he applied for from the defendants (public institutions).
“A declaration that the failure and or refusal of the defendants to give written notice to the plaintiff stating the reason for the denial of the information sought and requested by Exhibit ‘A’ is wrongful, unlawful and constitute a gross violation of section 4 (b) of the FoI Act 2011.
“An order of these Honourable courts on the defendants to make available to the plaintiff a hard copy of the information requested per Exhibit ‘A’ within seven days of the judgment of the courts.
“And the sum of one million naira only as exemplary and aggravated damages for the unlawful violation of the plaintiff’s right of access to information established and guaranteed by section 1 (1) and 4 of the FoI Act 2011,” among others.
Throwing more light on the development, lawyer to the plaintiff, Barr Kingdom Chukwuezie said, “these suits were filed with respect to the interpretation of the freedom of information Act. It was a law that was assented to by former President Goodluck Jonathan to make public institutions accountable to the people.
“This law places a duty on public institutions to make available any information Nigerians wanted provided the information did not come under those ones the law exempted especially those that border on security reasons.
“Wherein they (the public institutions) can not make the information available, the law requires them to write the applicant, stating the reason why the information is not available.”
Pursuance to the exercise of his right, Barr Chukwuezie maintained that his client, Mr Lenu applied for certain information from the aforementioned federal and state public institutions.
