The Federal Excessive Court docket in Abuja has ordered the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Discount to launch the small print of the beneficiaries of its Conditional Money Switch programme that ran from November 2024 to Might 2025.
In her judgement, delivered on Monday, Choose Binta Nyako gave the ministry seven days to launch the small print to a lawyer, Myson Nejo.
The court docket dominated that Mr Nejo, who’s the 2024 governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was entitled to have the small print he requested underneath the Freedom of Data (FOI) Act.
The court docket awarded N2 million in damages towards the ministry for refusing to grant Mr Nejo’s request in breach of the FOI Act.
Mr Nejo sued the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Discount for refusing to produce info on the “names of beneficiaries of the conditional money switch within the 18 native authorities areas of Ondo State and the quantity disbursed to every native authorities for the programme.”
The previous Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Nentawe Yilwatda, reportedly claimed in Might 2025 that the Conditional Money Switch programme had reached roughly 6 million Nigerians throughout the previous six months.
This prompted Mr Nejo to write down underneath the FOI Act to the ministry to request the small print of the beneficiaries in Ondo State.
The workplace of the Nationwide Coordinator/Chief Govt of the Nationwide Social Funding Programme Company (NSIPA) acknowledged Mr Nejo’s letter and knowledgeable him It was going by way of its archives to supply the knowledge, but it surely didn’t observe by way of on its promise.
Mr Nejo then sued the ministry by way of his lawyer, Vincent Adodo.
At Monday’s listening to, Mr Adodo requested the court docket to direct the ministry handy over the knowledge, however the Ministry’s authorized staff, led by Ibrahim Moddibo, resisted by way of a counter-affidavit.
The ministry argued that it couldn’t provide the knowledge as a result of doing so would violate the privateness of the beneficiaries.
Nevertheless, Mr Adodo, insisting on transparency, famous that the general public had the best to know the way public funds had been utilised. He emphasised that this public curiosity justifies the disclosure.
Following their submissions, the Choose gave on-the-spot judgement in favour of Mr Nejo.
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This isn’t the primary case the place the court docket established that accountability overrode claims of inconvenience or privateness.
In April, the Supreme Court docket ordered the Edo State Company for the Management of AIDS (EDOSACA) to launch the monetary and operational data to a bunch of civil society organisations.
Equally, the Court docket of Enchantment in September upheld the ruling of the Federal Excessive Court docket, Abuja, which directed the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) to supply the requested particulars by the Human and Environmental Improvement Agenda (HEDA Useful resource Centre) on subsidised alternate charges granted to pilgrims between 2016 and 2020.
