International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: In 2011, the Nigerian Government signed the FOI Bill into law, thereby making Nigeria the ninth country in Africa and among the over 90 countries in the world to have passed this bill. The Act, according to Media Rights Agenda (2011) is indeed very explicit in its mission, which is simply to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes and, for related matters. However, journalists in Nigeria among other obligations facing them have the mandate to beckon on the act and provide information roles to the society in line with their professional demand. This therefore called for in-depth study on the impact of the Act on the performance of the Nigerian journalists in the complex Nigerian society.
Objective: This study was undertaken to ascertain the impact of the Freedom of Information Act on journalistic practice in Nigeria.
Method: This study employed descriptive survey research method using respondents/journalists drawn from the capital cities of Enugu and Ebonyi States via purposive sampling techniques in choosing respondents. A total of 386 registered journalists were sampled and questionnaire administered to them to ascertain the impact of freedom of information act on their journalistic practice in Nigeria.
Result: Findings show high knowledge level of the Nigerian journalists on the FOI Act without equitable application of it in their journalistic practice in Nigeria.
Conclusion: The study concluded that freedom of information act exists in Nigeria but not applied in journalistic practice. This is as a result of the nature of government and its mode of administration in Nigeria. Therefore, FOI Act has not impacted positively on journalistic practice.
Unique Contribution: This study will be an eyes opener to the Nigeria citizens on the nature of FOI Act and its impact on registered and practicing journalists in Nigeria. The Nigerian journalists are challenged to find out how the FOI Act can be used to positively impact on their journalistic practice in the Nigeria.
Key Recommendation: This study recommends that the government of Nigeria should encourage and support journalists on the application of the Freedom of Information Act to make positive impact on their journalistic practice in Nigeria.