The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has warned against the abuse 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 institutional credibility.
Speaking in Abuja at a roundtable commemorating 14 years of the FOI Act, the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, 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,” he added.
