A civil society group, the Public and Private Development Centre, PPDC, has applied for leave from a Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the Office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, to release documents relating to contracts executed by his office, including details of Closed Circuit Television, CCTV cameras installed in Abuja in 2013.
In a motion ex parte filed by its lawyer, Godwin N. Chigbu, on Thursday, the PPDC sought leave from the court to apply for an order compelling the office of NSA to disclose the names of each project for which capital warrants were approved in the 2013 fiscal year, the dates payment approvals and releases were made, the amount utilized for each of the listed projects and the level of completion of each project.
The PPDC also sought leave to compel the office of the NSA to disclose the names of companies to which the contracts of procuring the CCTV cameras were awarded in 2013, the number of units of the camera involved and the plan for their installation.
The centre also wants to know the locations where the cameras were installed or are to be installed, the current status of implementation of the contracts, a copy of the each contract document executed by the parties in respect of these contracts and records showing the procurement method adopted in the selection of the contracts.
It stated that the NSA’s budget in 2013 covered the procurement and installation of CCTVs in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and the sum of N 105 million was approved for that purpose.
The PPDC stressed that the funds used in the execution of these projects are public funds and that the NSA, Sambo Dasuki, is responsible for the actions and inaction of the office including the failure to furnish PPDC with the information and documents requested for.
The centre said it was drawing authority from Section 2(1) and Section 9 of the Freedom of Information Act to demand the information and that the NSA was duty bound as a public institution by virtue of Sections 2(7) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 to comply.