British-Gambian Lawyer Pushes Airport Security Contract Dispute to Information Commission
British-Gambian lawyer Ousman F. M'Bai escalated his request for documents on the Securiport airport security fee to The Gambia's Information Commission after a ministry failed to answer within the required period.
Archive note: the original publication date could not be verified. March 14, 2021 is an assigned catalogue date for this record.
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British-Gambian lawyer Ousman F. M'Bai escalated his request for documents on the Securiport airport security fee to The Gambia's Information Commission after a ministry failed to answer within the required period.
M'Bai submitted an access to information request on 22 January 2026 to the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure. He sought the legal authority for the fee, the contract, exemptions, collection arrangements and mechanisms for public oversight.
The ministry did not respond within the 21-day statutory window described in the archived account. A further reminder sent on 23 February also failed to produce a substantive response, leading to a formal appeal in March.
By May, the Information Commission had said it contacted the ministry, but the case remained unresolved according to M'Bai. The dispute is about access to records, not a court judgment on the validity of the fee itself.
Publication of the contract and supporting documents would allow the public to assess whether amounts collected from travellers match the rights and duties set out in the underlying agreement.