Signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on 28 May 2011 after 12 years of civil-society advocacy led by the Right to Know coalition. §1 establishes the right of any person to access public records without showing locus standi. §2(6) presumes disclosure; §11–17 list narrow exemptions. Most public institutions still fail to meet the §29 annual reporting obligation.
Anti-Corruption2011Fourth Republic (Jonathan)· Act No. 4, 2011
Freedom of Information Act, 2011
Statutory right of access to public records. Burden of proof rests on the public authority to justify non-disclosure.
Standard citation
Freedom of Information Act, 2011 (Act No. 4, 2011), Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The political & economic reality at enactment
The political and economic reality
Nigeria in 2011: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period of this Act's commencement.
President · Fourth Republic
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
2010–2015· PDP
National reality
GDP rebasing April 2014 made Nigeria Africa's largest economy. Chibok abduction 14 April 2014 (276 girls). Sovereign Wealth Fund established 2012. Fuel-subsidy protests January 2012. Lost the 2015 election — first incumbent defeated.
Crises of the period
- #OccupyNigeria fuel-subsidy protests (Jan 2012)
- Chibok abduction (Apr 2014)
- Boko Haram caliphate at peak (2014)
- Oil price crash from mid-2014
GDP (World Bank)
$369 bn (2010) → $546 bn (2014, post-rebasing — largest African economy)
Cabinet (selected portfolios)
- Finance
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Coordinating Minister of the Economy)
- Education
Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i; Ibrahim Shekarau
- Petroleum
Diezani Alison-Madueke
Sources · Federal Gazette 2010–15 · NBS GDP rebasing report 2014
Methodology
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.