Court orders FAAN to account for airports toll gate revenue since 2015

A federal high court in Lagos has ordered the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to disclose the revenue generated from toll gates and parking lots fees in all federal government-owned airports.

FAAN is also ordered to disclose how much it remitted from January 2015 to January 2024.

Ibrahim Kala, the presiding judge, compelled the FAAN to provide details of the revenue to the applicant, the Registered Trustees of The Centre for Law & Civil Culture.

FAAN is expected to comply with the order within three months.

After the FAAN failed to comply with the August 24, 2022, freedom of information request, the Registered Trustees of The Centre for Law & Civil Culture filed the lawsuit marked FHC/L/CS/1086/2022.

The centre said FAAN violated the freedom of information (FOI) Act, 2011.

Parties had adopted their written addresses on January 25, 2024, after which the court adjourned for judgment.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Kala held that the applicant satisfied all the conditions stipulated in section 20 of the FOI Act.

“It is hereby declared that the refusal and failure of the respondents to accede to the Applicant’s freedom of information requests dated 24/8/2021, 6/10/2021 and 22/4/2022 requesting to know the total annual generated revenue from the toll gates and parking lots in each of the federal government owned airports across the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 2015 till date is a gross violation of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011,” the judge ruled.

“An order of mandamus is, hereby, granted compelling the respondent to avail the applicant with the details of the statement of the accounts showing the total annual generated revenue from the toll gates and parking lots in each of the federal government-owned airports across the Federal Republic of Nigeria and evidence of yearly remittance of such sum so generated per year from January 2015 to January 2024 within a period of three months from today.”