Court Orders NDDC To Pay Damages To Lawyer For Failing To Provide Information

A Federal High Court sitting in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State has ordered the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to pay damages for neglecting/failing to provide information as requested by a Lagos based lawyer, Anthony Iyasele, relating to his community.

Iyasele, who is the plaintiff in the suit had last year March,  written to NDDC regarding the abandoned construction of Oloa-Ossissa/Okpai/Abala-Uno Road and Bridge in Ndokwa-East Local Government Area in Delta state.

After several months of failing to make the information available to the Plaintiff, he was moved to seek redress in court.

Delivering the judgement in Suit No: FHC/PH/MISC/114/2021, Justice P. I. Ajoku, held that NDDC being a Public Institution as enshrined in S.2(7) and 31 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 is by law  bound to  make public the records and information  freely and available to members of the public on application within 7 days after the application is received.

The court also held that the failure of the Respondent to give the Applicant access to the information requested as contained in his letter dated March 12, 2021 is a gross violation of the rights of the Applicant to access public information.

The Court further ordered the Respondent to release to the Applicant information relating to the abandoned construction of Oloa-Ossissa/Okpai/Abala-Uno Road and Bridge in Ndokwa-East Local Government Area in Delta state as requested by law.

“The Applicant is entitled to the cost of N50, 000.00, as generals damages against the Respondent for its failure/neglect to supply the information sought from it by the Applicant as provided by law.”