By Brave Dickson
Rivers State University is expected to appear before presiding Justice Augusta Chukwu of a state high court in Port Harcourt on October 28,2019 following a suit brought against it by Mr Mark Lenu for violating his right of accessing information as contained in the Freedom of Information Act, (FoI) 2011.
In his originating summons in suit number: PHC/1302/2019, the plaintiff maintained that the first and second defendants in the suit (the university and its vice chancellor) contravened sections 1,4 and 7 of the FoI Act 2011 following the alleged refusal of the duo defendants to furnish him with certain information he applied for.
In a letter received and acknowledged by the university on April 10,2019, the plaintiff had requested for some information regarding the total sum received from regular students, postgraduate students and pre-degree students as tuition fees for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic sessions among others.
Upon refusal to furnish him with the information he had formally requested for, the plaintiff decided to drag the school to court while praying the court to grant the following reliefs in his favour:
“A declaration that the plaintiff is entitled to receive the information applied for from the 1st and 2nd defendants, having made written application and the 1st and 2nd defendants have received the same request on the 10th day of April, 2019.
“A declaration that the failure and or refusal of the 1st and 2nd defendants to make available to the plaintiff the information applied in the plaintiff’s letter to the 1st and 2nd defendants is wrongful, unlawful and amounts to a gross violation of the plaintiff’s right of having access to information as established and guaranteed by section 1(1) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
“A declaration that the failure and or refusal by the 1st and 2nd defendants to make available to the plaintiff, the information applied for or give written notice to the plaintiff in the plaintiff’s letter to the 1st and 2md defendants amounts to wrongful denial of access to information under section 7(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 and a gross violation of sections 4(b) of the Freedom of Information Act.
“An Order of this honourable court on the 1st and 2nd defendants to make available to the plaintiff a hard copy of the Information requested and soft copy through his email,” among others.
Updating our correspondent, counsel to the plaintiff, Barr Kingdom Chukwuezie said: “The suit that was filed by Mr Mark Lenu against the Rivers State University has eventually been assigned to Justice Chukwu who has fixed the matter to come up on the 28th day of October, 2019 for hearing.
“Parties to the suit including the university have filed their processes and we have responded but the counsel to the Attorney General of Rivers State was yet to respond. We are hopeful that before the hearing date, they will turn in their processes so that the court can take the matter simultaneously and determined the case accordingly.”
