The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has commended the Supreme Court for declaring that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2011 is binding to all tiers of government, including state institutions.

“The judgment represents a decisive step toward deepening democratic governance and ensuring that the dividends of democracy reach all Nigerians through openness and accountability,” HEDA’s chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mr Suraju gave the commendation after the apex court overruled the 2018 judgment by the Benin Division of the Appeal Court in Edo State in a case of Austin Osaku v. EDOSACA SC/614/2014, which began on January 6, 2014.

The Appeal Court had dismissed the suit by the applicant, a coalition of civil society organisations, which had filed a Freedom of Information request to the Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (EDOSACA), demanding records of the HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project (HPDP II), including financial expenditures, grants, donor partnerships, contract awards, and criteria for grant allocations between 2011 and 2014.

On further appeal, the Supreme Court, in its judgment delivered by Justice Lawal Garba on Friday, ruled that the National Assembly has the legislative power to make laws on public records and archives, insisting that the act, which aims to promote transparency, citizen engagement, and accountability in public governance, is binding across the federation.

In his reaction, Mr Suraju said the judgment was a long-deserved victory for Nigerians, as it reinforces the constitutional right of citizens to access public records and demand explanations from their leaders.

He also noted that the ruling ends the excuse by state institutions that the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to them due to the absence of state-enacted versions, adding that it will empower citizens to hold government agencies at all levels accountable.

“This decision must not be celebrated in theory alone; it must spark renewed vigour in civic activism and institutional oversight, especially at the sub-national level,” Mr Suraju stated.

He added, “The ruling validates the decade-long advocacy of civil society organisations championing open governance despite institutional resistance.”

The HEDA boss urged pressure groups, civil society actors, journalists, and citizens to judiciously use the FOI Act to demand transparency in public administration.