ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA'S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, 2011

ABSTRACTFreedom of information law in the world actually predates both the American and French revolutions. In 1766, Sweden passed the freedom of Press Act, which legalised the publication of government documents and provided for public access to them. The aim of this study was to review the provisions of the freedom of information Act 2011, and determine whether the ACT actually provides freedom and access to information in Nigeria. In order to achieve these, a qualitative research approach was used, whereby a thematic qualitative document analysis was used as research method. The study was guided by the Libertarian theory as its theoretical framework. One of the key findings was that; the freedom of information Act contains more sections which deny access to public information than those that give access. The study recommends that; all sections of the Act which deny access to information should be amended, Stakeholders, governments at all levels, media owners and managers should organise workshops and seminars for journalists and the general public to enlighten them on the provisions of the Act and on how to use the Act. The Nigeria union of journalists and other media unions should make it mandatory that all registered journalists must buy a copy of the freedom of information Act.