By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA – The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has been asked to restrain the Federal Government from making available to the public, details of amount it expended in the war against insurgency in the North East region, in the last four years.
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In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/159/2018, a constitutional lawyer, Mr. Osaze Agbonifo, contended that releasing security spending to the public would amount to a breach of provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
A civil society organisation under the aegis of Global Integrity Crusade Network had applied under the FOI Act, for FG to furnish it with details of its security expenditure in the North East.
Though FG had yet to respond to the request, the plaintiff, in the suit dated December 20, maintained that disclosure of such information to any unauthorized body would constitute a breach of provision of the FOI Act, insisting that the request was not in the interest of the country’s image.
Cited as Respondents in the suit are the Office of the National Security Adviser, Ministry of Defence, State Security Service, National Intelligence Agency, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Immigration Service.
Specifically, the Plaintiff, through his lawyer, Mr. Oghenovo Otemu, prayed the court for an order restraining the Respondents from releasing details of security spendings to any CSO acting under the FOI Act.
The Plaintiff further applied for an order restraining the Respondents from releasing or furnishing Global Integrity Crusade Network or any civil society organization, persons or entities that have applied for any information relating to or connected with the war against insurgency in the North East Under the FOI Act.
He also asked the court not to allow the Respondents to release the following information which was sough by the group: “The amount received as budgetary allocations from the federal government of Nigeria for counter terrorism operation in the year 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively.
“The list of security hardware and equipment procured for counter terrorism operations in the year 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, so as to confirm if the approved budgetary allocation were used for the intended purpose.
“List of contracts awarded, executed on ongoing in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as well as of list of newspapers, journals and other media outfit wherein the bidding exercise for the said contracts were published so as to be able to ascertain if the procedure laid down in the Public Procurement Act No. 65 of 2007 were duly followed.
“The breakdown of cost expended by your office on personnel running in the year 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 to enable us to ascertain if more than one third of the budgetary allocation meant for counter terrorism operations was not used for payment of allowances to only top management staffer”.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for hearing of the case.