Civil society organizations have given the Edo State Government seven days to take the necessary legal and administrative steps to implement the landmark Supreme Court judgment affirming that the Freedom of Information Act applies to sub-national authorities.
In a letter to the Edo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the coalition respectfully urged the Government to take immediate steps to ensure full compliance with the judgment.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria on the 11th day of April 2025 unanimously affirmed that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2011 applies to all tiers of government, including state institutions, in Appeal No. SC/614/2018 (Comrade Austin Osakue & 8 Ors. v. EDOSACA).
The court also ordered the release of records relating to the HIV/AIDS Program Development Project (HPDP II), including financial expenditures, grants, donor partnerships, contract awards, and criteria for grant allocations between 2011 and 2014.
This decision marks a decisive reversal of the 2018 majority ruling by the Court of Appeal, Benin Division, which controversially held that the FOIA applies only to federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Despite a formal notification of compliance dispatched on June 16, 2025, the Edo State Ministry of Justice has failed to take administrative steps to ensure compliance and release of the records.
The chairman of the Board of Governors of the Freedom of Information Coalition in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Duru, has condemned the Edo State Government’s non-compliance posture. The coalition condemned the compliance gap, adding that such failure to comply weakens public confidence in governance.
The coalition urged the Edo State Government to treat the Supreme Court judgment not merely as a binding legal obligation, but as an opportunity to strengthen citizens’ right of access to public information and deepen democratic accountability in the State.
The coordinator of Edo Civil Society Organization (EDOCSO) – Com. Omobude Agho, on his part, expressed shock that after 15 months of the court judgment, the same has not been complied with. He decried the current administration’s secrecy and described its disposition and delay in obeying the Supreme Court’s decision as anachronistic, brutal, and unconstitutional.
Similarly, the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, Edetaen Ojo, commended the move to enforce the disclosure. According to him, “enforcing the first FOI Supreme Court decision is itself legendary as the judgment”. He added, “We will ensure culprits of non-disclosure are not treated with kid gloves. The decision of the apex court on FOI is like any other judgment, and failure to comply has its statutory consequences.”
According to Robinson Otuakhena, Esq of RUDILAC, the FOIA enables citizens to obtain information, and when public authorities fail or refuse to comply, and a judicial review by the court sanctions disclosure, and public authorities still refuse to disclose, there is a single option of contempt proceedings; it is not about the success of it, but that all men are subject to our laws.
Multiple award-winning lawyer and lead Counsel to the applicants, President Aigbokhan, Esq., has issued a formal Notice of Reminder to the Honorable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Edo State, on 2nd October 2026, demanding immediate compliance with the historic Supreme Court judgment.
According to Aigbokhan, “the existing discourse on Nigeria’s FOIA has largely treated its problem as an implementation issue tied to judicial difficulties like time of adjudication and cost of litigation, but this case has identified bureaucratic resistance and institutional weaknesses as the bane of FOI enforcement in Nigeria.”
Part of the letter to the Edo State Attorney General reads: “We write to respectfully remind your office of the need to take the necessary legal and administrative steps to give effect to the judgment of the apex court.”
It reads further: “We look forward to receiving your response and confirmation of compliance within seven (7) days of receipt of this letter… thereby avoiding further legal steps that may become necessary to secure compliance.”
It will be recalled that at the ITV Radio Pre-Independence Public Lecture in Benin City on September 30, 20206, Femi Falana, SAN, described the Osakue v EDOSACA decision as the apex court’s best decision of the decade, considering its impact on sub-national transparency. He further noted that one thing distinct about Edo State is the novelty of landmark civic activities. He lamented the lack of connection between the state’s productive historical struggle and Governor Monday Okphebolo’s current leadership.