The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, issued a cautionary statement in Abuja on Tuesday. He emphasized that the unauthorized release or leakage of official documents, which could have negative consequences for the country, is a punishable act.
The warning was delivered during a workshop conducted by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in collaboration with the Office of the SGF.
At the workshop titled “Renewing Hope and Strengthening National Unity through Effective Communication and the Role of the Official Secrets Act in Maintaining Confidentiality and National Security,” Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, was represented by Dr Nnamdi Mbaeri, a Permanent Secretary from his office.
Mbaeri emphasized that the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive official documents is a serious offense with no legal defense provided by either the Constitution or the Freedom of Information Act.
He restated that under Section 97 (2) of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act, it is stated, “Any person who, being employed in the public service, without proper authority abstracts, or makes a copy of, any document the property of his employer is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year”.
He also mentioned that the government had previously implemented measures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive official information within government departments and agencies.
These measures were communicated through service-wide circulars issued by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation in August 2021.
“He said, ” This was reinforced by the issuance of another service-wide circular in February 2024 on the unauthorised circulation of official documents with information on social media.
“This was done to re-emphasise other extant regulations prohibiting unauthorised disclosure or leakage of official documents
“There is the need to regulate the activities of the civil society organisations who use the Freedom of Information Act to harass, intimidate and siphon resources from public officers through the dissemination of fake and unfounded information.
“This should be properly addressed by all the practitioners in the communication and related industries.”
