A group in Bayelsa State has taken the Chairman of Ogbia Local Government Area, Ebinyon Turner, to court over his refusal to respond to a Freedom of Information request asking him to show account of stewardship.
The organisation known as the Patriotism Advancement and Community Orientation Network made the case against Turner for his failure to answer their demands, which were made on December 9, according to a report by PUNCH.
The group asked the court to determine if, “Whether by a true interpretation of the constitution of section 4(a) and (b) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, the defendant are not legally bound to allow access to certified true copies of the document requested as contained in the group’s letter dated December 9, 2019.
“A declaration that the refusal, failure and or neglect by the defendant to release the information requested concerning Ogbia Local Government Area amount to violation of section 4(a)of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011(supra) and therefore is a wrongful, illegal and unconstitutional.
“A declaration that the refusal, failure or neglect to by the defendants to notify the claimant of its refusal or grant access to information contained in the claimant request concerning Ogbia Local Government Area within seven days of receipt of the application is a violation of section 7(1-3) of the Freedom of Information Act.
“An order of mandamus directing the defendant, including staff, servants and agents to within 14 days of delivery of judgment provide the claimant with following certified copies of proof of total allocation from January, 2019 to November 30, 2019, all receipts of the Joint Account Allocation Committee within the period under review, financial statement of the council, the proof of total expenditure of the local government, list of capital projects and list of location of the capital project.”
