FOI in Practice: Your First Freedom-of-Information Request This Week
The Freedom of Information Act 2011 gives every Nigerian a right to public information — a practical how-to, not legal advice. Learn to target the right institution, send a request with proof, work the 7-day clock, and push back on a denial.
by Sankofa Skills Studio · vetted expert author
What you'll gain
The Freedom of Information Act 2011 gives every Nigerian a real, legally enforceable right to ask public institutions for their records — budgets, contracts, payments, minutes — without giving a reason or hiring a lawyer. Yet most people never use it, and many institutions count on that. This is a practical, step-by-step civic-literacy how-to, not legal advice, and it is honest about one thing above all: it teaches the process and the remedies, but it promises the process, not the outcome — it cannot guarantee an institution complies, so persistence and escalation are part of the skill. You learn the right of access (any person, no reason, no standing needed), what counts as a public institution, and the genuinely contested question of whether the federal Act binds your state — so you confirm rather than assume. Then the craft: deciding a specific, well-scoped ask; targeting the institution that actually holds the record; writing a clean request with the seven parts that make it hard to refuse; and — the step most people get wrong — sending it so you can prove what you sent and when, because the 7-day response clock runs from receipt. You learn the timeline (grant, written refusal with reasons, or transfer within seven days; a limited, notified extension of up to seven more; and that no response in time counts as a refusal you can challenge), the fee rules (reproduction cost only — never a search fee, never a personal account), the narrow exemptions and the powerful public-interest override, and the two principles that keep openness the default — severance (release the rest, redact the exempt part) and the burden on the institution to justify a denial. You learn to read a denial for its weaknesses and climb the escalation ladder — a cited follow-up, oversight, and ultimately judicial review, where the court can order disclosure and the institution bears the burden (get a lawyer for court). Finally, ethics and safety: ask for records not rumours, treat an allegation as a lead not a verdict, never fabricate or harass, and avoid the fixers and fake portals that prey on citizens. Two Nigerians travel with you: Ijeoma, requesting the records behind a stalled borehole project, and Sadiq, turning a defective “classified” denial into a proper challenge. Where a timeline, fee or the state-application question could not be settled, the course tells you to confirm it with the Act text, a lawyer or your state rather than inventing it. This is civic empowerment and self-protection, not legal advice.
Pass a real exam and earn a publicly verifiable certificate employers trust.
Unlimited practice mode + spaced-repetition flashcards, then unlimited exam retakes.
Keep the lessons and every future update to this course, forever.
What you'll cover
10 modules · 21 lessons · timed certification exam
1. Start here 2 lessons
What this course is (civic literacy and a practical how-to, not legal advice) and the honest, clear-eyed mindset of a citizen who uses the FOI Act.
- What this course is — and is not · 12 min
- Why FOI matters, and the citizen’s mindset · 12 min
2. The right of access 2 lessons
Who can apply and what you do not need, what counts as a public institution, the genuinely contested question of whether the Act binds your state, and proactive disclosure.
- The Act and who can apply · 16 min
- Public institutions, states and proactive disclosure · 14 min
3. Decide and target 2 lessons
Turning a vague grievance into a specific, well-scoped ask — and sending it to the institution that actually holds the record.
- Decide exactly what you want · 14 min
- Target the institution that holds the record · 14 min
4. Write the request 2 lessons
The seven parts of a clean request that is hard to refuse — and the difference between wording that gets answered and wording that gets dodged.
- The anatomy of a request · 16 min
- Wording that gets answered · 12 min
5. File it so it counts 2 lessons
Sending your request so you can prove what you sent and when — because the 7-day clock runs from receipt — and logging everything.
- Send it so you can prove it · 16 min
- Acknowledge, diarise and wait · 10 min
6. The clock and the response 2 lessons
The 7-day rule and the limited, notified extension — and what a compliant grant, partial grant, refusal or transfer actually looks like.
- The 7-day rule and extensions · 14 min
- What a real response looks like · 12 min
7. Fees and forms of access 2 lessons
The strictly-limited fee rules — reproduction cost only, never a search fee or a personal account — and the forms of access, including partial release.
- Fees — strictly limited · 12 min
- Forms of access and partial release · 12 min
8. Exemptions and the public interest 2 lessons
The narrow, specific grounds on which information may be withheld — and the three principles (public-interest override, severance, burden on the institution) that keep openness the default.
- The narrow exemptions · 16 min
- The public-interest override, severance and burden · 14 min
9. Denials and pushback 2 lessons
How to read a denial for its weaknesses, and the escalation ladder — follow-up, oversight, and judicial review where the court can order disclosure.
- Reading a denial · 14 min
- The escalation ladder · 16 min
10. Ethics, the museum and your capstone 3 lessons
Using FOI ethically and safely, avoiding the fixers and fake portals, the hard truths to leave with, and a personal plan for your first request.
- Ethics, safety and scams · 16 min
- The honest museum and your capstone · 14 min
- Your capstone — a personal first-request plan · 14 min
Frequently asked
Is the certificate verifiable?
Yes. Every certificate carries a unique ID and a cryptographic signature. Anyone — an employer or a client — can confirm it instantly on our public verification page, with no login.
Who teaches this course?
A vetted expert author — Sankofa Skills Studio. Every expert course is reviewed and fact-checked before publication, and the author earns a revenue share on your enrolment.
How long do I have access?
Lifetime. Once you enrol you keep access to the lessons, practice mode and flashcards — including future updates to this course.
What happens if I don't pass the exam first time?
You can retake it — up to 5 attempts, with a 12-hour wait between attempts. Practice mode is unlimited, so rehearse with the same verified question bank until you're ready.
Can my team enrol together?
Yes. Talk to us about group and organisation rates — certifying a whole team is faster and cheaper than one at a time.
Continue your path
Learners taking this course often go on to: