Two weeks ago, on Monday 29 January, the Honourable Mr Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court (Court 9) sitting in Abuja held in the matter of Sesugh Akume v Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria (FHC/ABJ/CS/1491/2020) that the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court erred when a Freedom of Information (FOI) application I had made to the Supreme Court was not answered within 7 days as stipulated by law.
On the issue of award of damages and the cost of litigation, the Latin maxim, ‘Ubi jus, ibiremedium’, in English, ‘Where there is a right, there is a remedy’, means the law ensures that if the plaintiff has a right they must have the means to a remedy if they are injured in the enjoyment or exercise of the right.
They contended that the issue before the court was no longer about providing the information but whether it was provided timeously within the stipulated 7 days, and whether on the balance of probability the information would have been provided had the respondent not been dragged to court.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has found the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court guilty of Freedom of Information (FOI) request violation. However, the court failed to award the fine of N500,000 against the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court as stipulated by the law, hence, the petitioner, Sesugh Akume, a public policy analyst, vowed to appeal a part of the judgment.
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