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NBMA Boss Writes Attorney General Over Misuse of Fredoom of Information Act

Published

4 years ago

August 4, 2020

… Calls for sanity in the use of the Act

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The Director-General/ Chief Executive Officer of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr Rufus Ebegba has written a letter of complaint to the Attorney General of the Federation and the Honorable Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami over the misuse of the freedom of information act by the International Institute of investigative reporting (ICIR).

The DG/CEO in a letter with the title “complaint against the International centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) for malicious and abusive use of information obtained from the National Biosafety Management Agency under the provisions of the freedom of information act: call for investigation and prosecution”, became necessary as a result of the misuse of information provided by the NBMA to the ICIR.

Dr Ebegba said there was the need to bring the attention of the Attorney General to the malicious publication by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) which was calculated to tarnish the image of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).

He said “this kind of sensational journalism that is hasty to castigate and founded on fallacy is considered to be most unfair and uncharitable to the NBMA since the information upon which the said report is based was obtained from the NBMA in its meticulous compliance to a Freedom of Information Request as provided for by the Section 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2015”.

“The ICIR by its publication constituted itself into an investigator, prosecutor and judge where it further adjudged the NBMA to be guilty and proceeded to publish its highly flawed conclusion to the world in what seems to be a hatchet job that is carried out on behalf of the detractors of the NBMA who in their manner to, by all means publish damaging contents about the NBMA”.

“The NBMA, in humble terms, is one agency of Government that has striven against all odds to comply with the extant standards and public procurement procedures as laid down by the Federal Government of Nigeria in accordance with the Public Procurement Act. Therefore, it has nothing to hide with regards its procurements”.

“However, it will not serve the interest of good governance where unscrupulous persons capitalize on the transparency of an agency of Government like the NBMA to publish cheap and unsubstantiated conclusions in order to serve interests, who work against the interest of the government and people of Nigeria. The idea of government offices and officials been demonized will not go well for the interest of the nation. There is need to stop this practice for us to have a sane nation, impunity must be stopped.

Dr Ebegba said the NBMA stands by the contract figures in the records it made available, being the result of a painstaking exercise by its Procurement Committee.

He requested that an investigation be initiated against the ICIR with regards to its intention, considering its deliberate misrepresentation of facts which it obtained through a Freedom of Information Request.

The DG/CEO said it is important that this growing practice of misusing and abusing government information especially by online media publishers be discouraged in order to save the responsible application of the Freedom of Information Act.

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Featured

Association condemns mob action against alleged LGBT group leader

Published

5 hours ago

April 16, 2024

The Gleamer

By Dorcas Jonah

The leader of Landlord Association in Bwari community, Malam Ahmed Audu, has condemned the attack on the home of an alleged Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGBT) group leader, Daniel Soetan and Oluwafunmi Soetan alleged gay partner in Bwari.

Audu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bwari, Abuja, that he was not in support of LGBT, adding that the mob action was also not the best.
He said that some irate mob attacked and set ablaze the home of the LGBT leader in Bwari, FCT.

Audu described their action as unacceptable and against the law, just as LGBT was also against the law.

According to Audu, the mob, who are members of the community, accused the alleged leader of leading an unholy group of homosexuals into their community.

”We gather that news has filtered into the community that he has been hiding in the community after fleeing from a gay party in Warri, Delta, in August 2023.

”Upon unveiling the identity of the accused, the irate mob resorted to taking laws into their hands to flush him out of the community.

”The mob accused him of corrupting the psyche of their children to believe there is nothing wrong with gay and lesbianism,” he said.

Audu said that Nigeria’s anti-gay law of 2014 signed by President Goodluck Jonathan, stipulates a 14-year prison term for anyone involved in same sex relationship or marriage.

He advised the youth to allow the law to take its course rather than take the laws into their hands.

”We all know that popular tradition, religion and law in Nigeria are against homosexual, the law does not equally support jungle justice,” he said.

Audu called on the government at all levels and community leaders to protect the children of the fleeing alleged LGBT leader and his partner.

He said that the association was working with community leaders in Bwari to ensure that the situation was under control, adding that they had reported to matter to the appropriate authority.

NAN

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