Court bars release of Buhari medical information, costs

A judge ruled last week that Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari does not have to reveal the cost of his treatment for an undisclosed illness that incapacitated him for several months. A TimesLIVE report notes that Buhari spent several months in London last year, but the exact nature of his condition remains a mystery. He has said only that it involved multiple blood transfusions and tests. His absence from the helm of Africa's most populous nation prompted speculation about his fitness to govern – as well as whether Nigerian taxpayers footed his private medical bill. Civil society group the Advocacy for Societal Rights Advancement and Development Initiative made a freedom of information request to the Central Bank of Nigeria for details. When the request was denied, trustees took the CBN to court. The report notes that Judge John Tsoho said the Freedom of Information Act provided for an exemption where personal information is not publicly available and the individual has not consented.