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The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has raised alarm over disturbing misuse of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by individuals and faceless groups posing as civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with no track record, known address, or institutional credibility.
Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of NEITI, raised the alarm while speaking at a High-Level Roundtable Discussion to commemorate 14 years of the FOI Act held in Abuja.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI described the trend as “a dangerous weaponisation of a noble democratic law to blackmail, harass, and extort public officials and Government institutions.”
“Let there be no mistake: this is not activism—it is sabotage,” Orji declared in his keynote address. “These fake NGOs and touts parade false identities, file FOI requests under misleading pretences, and then engage in media blackmail and threats to extract money. They have no interest in facts or transparency. Their only mission is extortion. And it must stop.”
Orji emphasised that the FOI Act, passed in 2011, was a landmark law in Nigeria’s democratic journey, protecting citizens’ right to know and empowering oversight over Government. But he warned that unless it was urgently safeguarded, the Act risks becoming a tool for intimidation and abuse rather than transparency and accountability.
“At NEITI, we have responded to 72 FOI requests in the last decade, operate a dedicated FOI portal, put in place a proactive disclosure platform on our website, published annual progress reports, convened regular media briefings, series of stakeholders’ forums, and submitted annual compliance reports.
“Our reports, Beneficial Ownership Register, procurement process and implementation information and data are all proactively disclosed and freely placed in the public domain. We are currently working to complete work on the NEITI Data Centre to add to wider public access to credible information. But these fake NGOs ignore these disclosures and instead resort to threats aimed at coercion and extortion”, he said.
To address this growing menace, NEITI called for urgent legal and institutional reforms, including amending the FOI Act to criminalise and place stringent sanctions on false FOI claims, blackmail, and identity fraud, establish an independent oversight/redress mechanism to verify the legitimacy of FOI requests, Institutionalise FOI Units in all MDAs with trained, professional staff and accelerating subnational implementation of the FOI Act across all States, among others.
Read also: Nigeria risks losing N3.43trn to gas flaring in five years, NEITI warns
NEITI further urged all anti-corruption Agencies—the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and others—to remain focused on their mandates and resist the temptation of being distracted by the activities of these faceless NGOs and fake CSOs.
Orji stressed the importance of distinguishing between genuine civil society oversight and fraudulent campaigns masked as activism. He urged law enforcement Agencies, media regulators, and civil society platforms to join hands in weeding out impostors that threaten the integrity of Nigeria’s accountability ecosystem.
“The FOI Act is not a blackmail license. It is a promise of truth, openness, and democratic empowerment. We must protect that promise from abuse. NEITI will not be intimidated, and we will continue to expose and resist such unethical conduct”, he added.
Also speaking at the event, Faith Nwadishi, Executive Director of the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), reaffirmed that NEITI remains a model of proactive disclosure and institutional responsiveness.
“NEITI’s reports are vital instruments of transparency. They guide FOI implementation and provide facts that expose corruption and support accountability,” she stated.
Erisa Danladi Sarki, Civil Society Representative on the NEITI Board and National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP), called for stronger multi-stakeholder vigilance and sustained advocacy to protect the FOI Act.
“We must not allow faceless actors to erode public trust in FOI. Citizens deserve tools that empower, not harm them. The FOI Act must remain a shield for truth, not a sword for deception”, Sarki noted.
But, Emmanuel Uche, Programme Manager of the RoLAC Programme funded by the European Union (EU), reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s democracy and rule of law through initiatives that strengthen access to information and transparency.
