An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay a sum of N1 million to the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) as damages for denial of access to information, and also directed the apex bank to make the requested documents available to the non-governmental organization. The court also held that
An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay a sum of N1 million to the Media Rights Agenda (MRA) as damages for denial of access to information, and also directed the apex bank to make the requested documents available to the non-governmental organization.
The court also held that CBN’s failure to release the information requested by the organization violated the right of access to information established by sections 1(1) and 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and also contravened Section 7(5) of the Act.
Filing the suit in June 2020, the MRA, through its lawyer, Mr Darlington Onyekere, challenged the CBN’s refusal to disclose the information it applied for, asking the court to compel the bank and its governor to provide the documents to the organization.
The legal counsel also filed a suit against the Attorney General of the Federation on the same matter, praying for copies of all the CBN’s data protection policies issued in conformity with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), 2019; the name and contact details of the CBN’s Data Protection Officer, designated in accordance with the NDPR and its relevant data privacy instruments and data protection directives.
Justice Donatus Uwaezuoke Okorowo compelled the CBN to provide the information to the MRA while delivering the verdict, ordering the accordingly issued an order compelling the CBN to make all the information requested by MRA available to the organization.
The judge also ruled that MRA was entitled to damages for the unlawful violation of its right to access to information and granted the organization’s claim of N1 million as damages. He, however, refused MRA’s request for an order directing the Attorney-General of the Federation to initiate criminal proceedings against the CBN for the offense of wrongful denial of access to information under Section 7(5) of the FOI Act.
Justice Okorowo further concurred with MRA that the CBN had violated section 4(b) of the Act by failing to notify the organization in writing that access to all or a portion of the information requested would not be granted, as well as by failing to specify the reasons for its denial of access and the section of the Act under which the denial was made
