In a significant ruling on Friday, February 23, the Federal High Court in Lagos has mandated the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to disclose the revenue generated from toll gates and parking lots fees at all federal government-owned airports.
The court also demanded information on how much FAAN remitted from January 2015 till January 2024.
Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala issued the order, compelling FAAN, the sole Respondent, to provide these details to a public interest applicant, The Registered Trustees of The Centre for Law & Civil Culture. The judge granted the federal agency three months to comply with the order.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/L/CS/1086/2022, was initiated by the applicant due to FAAN’s failure to respond to its freedom of information request dated August 24, 2022. The applicant argued that this failure violated the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.
Representing the Applicant was B.O. Fowewe, while A.A. Lawal represented the Respondent.
Following the conclusion of the hearing on January 25, 2024, during which both parties presented their written addresses, the court adjourned for judgment.
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During the proceedings on Friday, Justice Kala granted the Applicant’s prayer, stating that it had met all the conditions outlined in Section 20 of the FOI Act.
The judge declared, “I shall, therefore, reach the irresistible conclusion that the lone issue for determination in this case, id est. ‘Whether the Respondent is mandated to provide the requested information to the Applicant as provided for under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 and the Applicant entitled to the reliefs sought in their Originating Application,’ is resolved against the Respondent and in favour of the Applicant.”
As part of the ruling, Justice Kala ordered FAAN to disclose the total annual generated revenue from toll gates and parking lots in each of the Federal Government-owned airports across Nigeria since 2015. Additionally, FAAN must provide evidence of yearly remittances of such funds generated per year from January 2015 to January 2024 within three months from the date of the ruling.