The Court of Appeal sitting in Ondo State has ruled that the Freedom of Information Act is applicable in all the states in Nigeria.In an appeal filed by a journalist, Martins Alo, against the speaker of the Ondo House of Assembly and the Auditor-General of the state, the court ruled that no state has the powers to reject FoI requests.
Alo had demanded the audited report of the Ondo state Government between 2012 and 2014 to properly access how public funds are utilised in the state, but the request was rejected, prompting him to seek judicial redress.
The state high court in Akure had previously ruled in 2016 that Alo had no right to make such a demand, saying the FoI law was not applicable to states.
