The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, has issued a stern warning to civil servants against leaking official documents, emphasizing that such actions could harm Nigeria.
Akume highlighted that the government has implemented measures to curb the leakage of sensitive information in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) through service-wide circulars issued by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation in August 2021.
Speaking at a workshop organized by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in collaboration with the Office of the Government of the Federation (OSGF) on Tuesday in Abuja, Akume, represented by Dr. Nnamdi Mbaeri, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the SGF, stressed that unauthorized leakage of official documents is a felony.
Citing Section 97 (2) of the Criminal Code Act of Nigeria, Akume 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 added that this regulation was reinforced by another service-wide circular issued in February 2024, addressing the unauthorized circulation of official documents on social media.
“This was done to re-emphasize other extant regulations prohibiting unauthorized disclosure or leakage of official documents,” he noted.
Akume also underscored the need to regulate the activities of civil society organizations that misuse the Freedom of Information Act to harass, intimidate, and extract resources from public officers by spreading fake and unfounded information.
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