An Abuja High Court has ordered Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia to release detailed records of the total revenue accruing to the state and the expenditure of his administration since he assumed office in June 2023.
The Court ruling seeks to strengthen citizens’ ability to compel transparency from government officials across the country and has also directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to release the related information .
Delivering judgement on October 8, Justice H. Mu’azu, of the FCT High Court No. 24, Maitama, issued the mandatory order in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/3903/2026, compelling the Governor, listed as the second respondent, to comply with a Freedom of Information request filed on September 8, 2025, by Honourable Joseph Waya, a Benue citizen and former governorship aspirant.
The judgment requires the Benue State Government to disclose All statutory allocations received from the Federation Account since June 2023, Monthly Internally Generated Revenue figures, and Federal interventions, grants and special funding.
The Court’s directive also mandates Governor Alia to make public all Domestic and foreign loans obtained by the state, Foreign donations and grants, Monthly personnel expenditure, including wage bills and pension payments; and details of contract awards, and their implementation status.
The ruling follows Mr. Waya’s contention that the state government failed to respond within the seven-day period required under Section 4 of Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
NewsQuest reports that the law obliges public institutions, agencies, and government officials to provide requested information within seven days, unless a statutory exemption applies, and allows applicants to seek judicial review where access is denied.
Justice Mu’azu held that Mr. Waya, a citizen of Vandeikya Local Government Area, had the legal standing to pursue the case.
The Court said the refusal to release the records undermined transparency, public interest and the rule of law.
Mr. Waya, who was represented by the law firm A & G Solomon, relied on Sections 7(4) and 20 of the Freedom of Information Act, which permit judicial review of denied information requests.
Under the Act, an applicant denied access may apply to court for review, and such applications are to be heard summarily.
Our correspondent gathered that the decision represents a rare direct judicial challenge to fiscal secrecy at the state level and could set a precedent for citizens seeking granular data on allocations, borrowing, payroll and contracts.
Legal analysts described it as a significant enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act and a reminder that public office is held in trust for the people. The Court has also ordered immediate compliance.
Speaking to our correspondent in an interview, Mr. Waya insisted that governance cannot function as a private preserve, where only insiders understand decisions affecting schools, hospitals, roads, salaries, and public debt.
Waya said that “the motivation to go to court and secure this judgement was simply to ensure that those elected to serve us must always be held accountable and remain transparent in running government, because the mandate they hold is a public trust.
“In the case of Benue, the Governor seems to be running the state like a priest assigned to a parish, superintending on all matters without any checks and in the last three years, has regrettably reduced governance into a secret cult, where the rest of us who are not considered as members of the cult are not entitled to know what’s happening in government and with our resources,”
According to Waya, the judgment is against the Benue State Governor and the Federal Ministry of Finance to release all information from the reliefs sought against each of them.
“Surely, I will be seeking further Court enforcement if any of them ignores the judgment,” Waya stressed.
Plaintiff Waya noted that the ruling is intended to ensure that elected officials treat public office as a trust, and against the culture of governing without explanation.
