Media Rights Agenda, MRA, has criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for demanding over N1.5 billion to provide a copy of the National Register of Voters and the list of polling units across Nigeria, describing the fee as an attempt to use cost as a barrier to public access to information.
In a statement issued on Thursday, MRA’s Executive Director, Mr. Edetaen Ojo, condemned the move, calling it a “blatant attempt to weaponize cost as a tool for denying access to vital public information”.
“The National Register of Voters and the list of polling units are arguably the most essential public records needed by civil society organizations, political parties, election observers, and the media to effectively monitor the electoral process.
“By placing such a colossal financial barrier in the way of a requester, INEC is deliberately hindering the public’s right and ability to scrutinize its operations, thereby compromising transparency and avoiding accountability,” he said.
MRA’s reaction followed INEC’s letter dated October 31, 2025, signed by its Secretary, Ms. Rose Oriaran Anthony, demanding N1,505,901,750.00 from the law firm of V-C Ottackpukpu & Associates, which had filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request on October 8, 2025 .
Ojo described the charge as “excessive, prohibitive, and a clear violation of the spirit and letter of the FOI Act,” citing Section 8(1) of the Act, which limits fees to the standard cost of document duplication and transcription.
He also pointed to guidelines issued by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, SAN, which cap photocopying and printing costs at N10 per page, arguing that even the full list of 93,469,008 registered voters and 176,8446 polling Units could not legally amount to such a sum.
The MRA boss further referenced the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections in Africa, adopted in 2017, which require election bodies to proactively disclose key electoral data, including the voters’ roll.
He stressed that the requested documents are likely already digitized, making the real cost of providing them minimal. “INEC’s action signals a troubling shift towards bureaucracy and profit over transparency,” Mr. Ojo warned.
MRA urged INEC to withdraw what it called an “outrageous” demand and release the information free of charge or at a cost that strictly complies with the FOI Act and the Attorney-General’s guidelines.
“The FOI Act is designed to make public records freely available. If allowed to stand, this sets a dangerous precedent that could embolden other agencies to impose prohibitive fees, effectively undermining Nigeria’s transparency and accountability framework,” Ojo said.
