Eghosa O Ekhator | University of Derby (original) (raw)

Papers by Eghosa O Ekhator

AfronomicsLaw Blog, 2024

In many African countries, the protection and promotion of human rights is enshrined in national ... more In many African countries, the protection and promotion of human rights is enshrined in national laws including domestic constitutions, policies, and guidelines. Many African countries are signatories to a plethora of conventions on human rights including the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. However, in several African countries, ordinarily, socio-economic rights are not enforceable because socio-economic rights are not explicitly provided in many national constitutions. Furthermore, right to research as an evolutive and burgeoning framework in the African copyright system adds to this mix.

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Transnational Dispute Management, Jun 16, 2021

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) recognises the Regional Economic Commu... more The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) recognises the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the building blocs for continent-wide integration in line with the historical efforts reflected in the Lagos Action Plan of 1980 and the transitional plan of the African Union (AU) articulated in the 1991 Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty). The AfCFTA enjoins State Parties that are members of other RECs, which have attained among themselves higher levels of elimination of customs duties and trade barriers than those provided for under the Protocol, to continue maintaining this, and where possible improve upon, existing higher levels of trade liberalisation among themselves. While RECs are fundamental to the African integration experience and are considered the building blocs of AfCFTA, several challenges may emerge. This paper examines the prospects and challenges of RECs under the recently established AfCFTA regime.N/

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Dispute is a natural consequence of human interactions and dispute resolution mechanisms are crit... more Dispute is a natural consequence of human interactions and dispute resolution mechanisms are critical to the peace and harmonious coexistence of every society. In pre-colonial times when there were no western styled public courts in many African societies, customary arbitration was an integral part of the dispute resolution mechanisms, and it is argued that it has remained even so today. In Nigeria, customary arbitration remains relevant and has received judicial approval by the Supreme Court in a plethora of cases. This paper discusses recent judicial developments on customary arbitration focusing on a recent judgment of the Nigerian Supreme Court-Umeadi v Chibunze and its implications on customary arbitration in the highly plural Nigerian legal system. Chibunze v Umeadi recognised the validity of traditional oath-taking as a feature of customary arbitration for parties who rely on it. This paper argues that customary arbitration remains one of the most common indigenous dispute resolution mechanisms in Nigeria. This paper seeks to interrogate the practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria, ascertain the conditions for its validity and evaluate the utility of traditional oath-taking as a constituent

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Eghosa Ekhator, ‘Environmental Justice in the Global South: Overview of some Contemporary Developments’. Human Rights Centre (HRC) Guest Speaker Series: Sustainability, Environment, Law, and Rights. Organised by the Human Rights Centre and University of Essex Law School, 15 June 2023

Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or comm... more Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or communities and it is a culmination of more than 500 years of struggle by people of colour in the USA to achieve this (Ekhator 2014). Historically, environmental justice emerged as a counter measure to the discontent and inherent racism entrenched in government policies in the Deep South of the USA in the 1960s and 1970s. The significance of the doctrine varies depending on the context or the country in focus (Ekhator 2017). However, it is now applied to a widening spectrum of serious social concerns, particularly those related to communities that suffer from social inequity attributed to environmental inequalities (Ako 2009). The environmental justice doctrine has flourished and it has spread to all corners of the world, especially areas with a history of environmental abuse or degradation. Countries to which the doctrine has diffused include Nigeria, South Africa, and India, amongst others.
This presentation focuses on the environmental justice paradigm in the Global South and highlights some of the recent trends and developments in this sphere. Some of the issues that will be in focus in this presentation include the conceptualisation of environmental justice doctrine from Global South perspectives, role of sub-regional and regional courts/mechanisms in the promotion of environmental justice, collaboration between western-based NGOs and NGOs in the Global South, the utility of the right to environment as one of the strategies of promoting environmental justice in the Global South and the role of environmental justice paradigm in the conceptualisation of climate litigation jurisprudence in the Global South.
Thus, in essence, this presentation argues that ‘from its origins in grassroots activism and engaged sociological scholarship, primarily in the USA, environmental justice research has generated what is now a vast, multi-disciplinary literature encompassing a wide range of issues and politics’ in the Global South (Holifield, Chakraborty & Walker 2017).

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Benson Idahosa Law Journal , 2015

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates i... more The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates international transactions or international sale of goods. It is one of the documents produced through the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The CISG attempts to bridge the gap between the different legal systems of the world, mainly between the civil law French and German sub-traditions and the common law namely, English and American sub-traditions, by creating a uniform law for the international sale of goods. The CISG governs the formation of the contract of sale as well as the rights and obligations of the buyer and seller, including their remedies. This paper examines the extent to which the CISG has been able to achieve compromises in the harmonization of international transactions amongst different countries notwithstanding its inherent contradictions.

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Environmental Law Review, 2015

There has been never-ending debate concerning the right to a healthy environment and the extent t... more There has been never-ending debate concerning the right to a healthy environment and the extent to which the law has provided for or guaranteed the right in national and international contexts. Whilst some countries have expressly recognised the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions and subsidiary laws, others have relied on regional instruments and treaties to guarantee such rights, especially where domestic legislation is either lacking, inadequate or ineffective. This article will contend that constitutionalising (rather than regionalising before a human rights commission or treaty) environmental rights domestically would improve environmental outcomes in Nigeria. To further buttress the constitutionalisation argument, this article will undertake a critical analysis of the right to the environment in South Africa which has constitutionalised the right to the environment.

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Kim Bouwer, Uzuazo Etemire, Tracy-Lynn Field and Ademola Oluborode Jegede (eds) Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa (Bristol University Press), 2024

In Nigeria, many of its citizens are quite vulnerable to the vagaries or negative impacts of clim... more In Nigeria, many of its citizens are quite vulnerable to the vagaries or negative impacts of climate change. This has been exacerbated by a plethora of factors not limited to poverty, the activities of multinational companies (MNCs) and endemic environmental injustice issues in many parts of the country especially the Niger Delta region (wherein the oil and gas industry is located). Arguably, the impacts of climate change will have negative consequences on Nigerians (especially in the Niger Delta).
This chapter relies on climate justice as its analytical lens. Climate justice which is an offshoot of the environmental justice paradigm can be used to improve access to justice and protect climate change victims in Nigeria. The chapter also highlights some of the recent reforms or initiatives by the Nigerian government in improving climate justice in the country. This chapter discusses the potential of climate change litigation in Nigeria as one of the strategies that can be used in ventilating climate justice issues in the country.

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Umewaen: Journal of Benin and Edo Studies, 2020

There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in precolon... more There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in precolonial Africa that promoted justice, peace, and order among people and communities. Special provisions such as collective responsibility in legal personality, the law of primogeniture, the fusion of laws and religion in theory and practice, and the recognition of societal status and political position in legal proceedings amongst other legal concepts were incorporated into the body of laws in Benin. Previous intellectual efforts center on the political, economic, and social aspects of history, largely neglecting these legal dynamics and other vital areas of the kingdom's organization. Hence, this study analyzes indigenous legal concepts in the Benin Kingdom using several varieties of primary and secondary sources. It contends that Benin, like other African societies, developed practical and useful legal concepts that helped in the consolidation of peace and harmony throughout its length and breadth, and that these indigenous Benin legal concepts were in force till 1897.

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The)

The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country... more The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country does not imply that the same approach or strategy would be successful when replicated in another country because there is no ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ to policy implementation. The rationale for the above assertion is that institutions play a major role in the success of any policy. Undoubtedly, institutional approach provides a solid foundation to explore the interplay between formulation of policies and their effective implementation. Therefore, for an environmental policy to be successfully implemented, the institutional peculiarity of the country must be considered. This article explores the role of informal institutions (embedded institutions) in policy implementation focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa with specific focus on Nigeria. It provides theoretical basis for an informal institutional approach in environmental policy implementation. This article suggests that the institution...

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In Obasesam Okoi and Victoria R. Nalule (eds) Governing Natural Resources for Sustainable Peace in Africa Environmental Justice and Conflict Resolution (Routledge 2024) pages 145-168, 2024

Using Nigeria as a case study, this chapter analyses some of the protracted natural resource conf... more Using Nigeria as a case study, this chapter analyses some of the protracted natural resource conflicts and their impact on the economy and environment in Africa. In many parts of the continent, the absence of the rule of law has exacerbated natural resource conflicts. This chapter relies on the environmental justice paradigm to critique the rule of law conundrum in natural resource governance in Africa. Arguably, the environmental justice paradigm can be deployed as a strategic tool to address natural resource conflicts in Africa. Hence, this chapter argues that there are inherent limitations to simply enforcing the rule of law in African countries since governments, who are the enforcers of laws, are usually directly or indirectly involved in natural resource conflicts. Thus, we argued that guaranteeing the enforcement of the rule of law would then depend on the integration of environmental justice principles into the laws and policies governing resource extraction and use in Africa.
The chapter concludes by recommending some practical reform measures framed from the environmental justice paradigm that could be used to address the challenges associated with natural resource conflicts in Africa. Drawing lessons from Nigeria, this chapter can be useful to other African countries as well. To achieve this, a lesson-learned approach is important. This requires broad discussions of the key reforms necessary using Nigeria as an example.

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 2016

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 2022

The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country... more The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country does not imply that the same approach or strategy would be successful when replicated in another country because there is no 'one-size-fits-all approach' to policy implementation. The rationale for the above assertion is that institutions play a major role in the success of any policy. Undoubtedly, institutional approach provides a solid foundation to explore the interplay between formulation of policies and their effective implementation. Therefore, for an environmental policy to be successfully implemented, the institutional peculiarity of the country must be considered. This article explores the role of informal institutions (embedded institutions) in policy implementation focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa with specific focus on Nigeria. It provides theoretical basis for an informal institutional approach in environmental policy implementation. This article suggests that the institutional approach can be extended to environmental protection and management through informal institutions.

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Pretoria University Press, Dec 1, 2019

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121 (02) German Journal of Comparative Law (Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft) pages 118-130, 2022

In the absence of an explicit international framework on the regulation of the cross-border activ... more In the absence of an explicit international framework on the regulation of the cross-border activities of multinational corporations (MNCs), coupled with the barriers to accessing environmental justice through litigation in domestic courts, many victims of environmental injustice now institute cases in foreign jurisdictions especially the home states of the MNCs because they believe they will get justice in those courts. On the
other hand, there is plethora of sub-regional institutions that have been relied upon by victims of environmental injustices arising from activities of MNCs in Africa. This article focuses on the reliance on sub-regional judiciaries in Africa by different stakeholders including oil producing communities, individuals, and other relevant
stakeholders amongst others. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice (ECCJ) is used as the case-study in this article. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria have also relied on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice (ECCJ) to seek redress for victims of environmental injustice in Nigeria.

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Social Science Research Network, 2020

There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in pre-colo... more There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in pre-colonial Africa that promoted justice, peace, and order among people and communities. Special provisions such as collective responsibility in legal personality, the law of primogeniture, the fusion of laws and religion in theory and practice, and the recognition of societal status and political position in legal proceedings amongst other legal concepts were incorporated into the body of laws in Benin. Previous intellectual efforts center on the political, economic, and social aspects of history, largely neglecting these legal dynamics and other vital areas of the kingdom's organization. Hence, this study analyzes indigenous legal concepts in the Benin Kingdom using several varieties of primary and secondary sources. It contends that Benin, like other African societies, developed practical and useful legal concepts that helped in the consolidation of peace and harmony throughout its length and breadth, and that these indigenous Benin legal concepts were in force till 1897.N/

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Brazilian Journal of Development, 2022

The transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy has become a topical issue... more The transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy has become a topical issue that is likely to remain in the front burner of stakeholders as governments and businesses gradually move towards low-carbon economies. This move has been partly accelerated by the need to combat climate change and greenhouse gases (GHG). The move towards more sustainable energy sources has led to an upsurge in the number of international mechanisms such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP 15) (and a plethora of regional and domestic initiatives). Regulations and standardisation have been identified as strategic tools that can play critical roles in the drive towards energy transition. Regulation in this context refers to laws or other form of instruments with legal backing and having cohesiveness, while Standardisation entails the voluntary process of developing technical specifications based on consensus among stakeholders.
The focus of this paper is how these two strategic tools interact and how they can be used to, enhance creativity, and further accelerate the drive towards energy transition and therefore more sustainable sources of energy.

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Guest Lecture to University of West Indies LLM Class on Oil and Gas law, 16 November 2020

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Justiciability of Human Rights Law in Domestic Jurisdictions, 2015

The legal framework regulating socio-economic rights in Nigeria is ambiguous. These rights, liste... more The legal framework regulating socio-economic rights in Nigeria is ambiguous. These rights, listed under Section II of the constitution titled Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles, are non-justiciable by virtue of section 6(6)(c) of the constitution. However, Nigeria as a dualist state has adopted (ratified and domesticated) the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (African Charter) in accordance with relevant constitutional provisions. Therefore, the provisions of the African Charter are (arguably) part and parcel of Nigeria’s laws, thus ‘justiciable’.

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African Human Rights Journal, 2021

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, it has been reported that older pe... more Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the
world, it has been reported that older persons have suffered acute
hardship and fatalities more than any other age group. According to the
World Health Organisation the fatality rate among older persons is five
times the global average, and the United Nations has predicted that the
mortality rate could climb even higher. The situation is aggravated on
the African continent as a result of a shortage of medical personnel and
other resources, as well as inadequate palliative measures to address the
issues around the pandemic. Despite the provisions in the African Charter
on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter
on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa which seek to provide some
safety nets, many of these senior citizens continue to suffer untold socio-economic hardship. Adopting an analytical and doctrinal methodology, this article examines the Protocol, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and several United Nations
policy documents aimed at realising the socio-economic rights of older
persons. The article finds that there is a lack of political commitment to
operationalise the provisions of the Protocol, as evinced by the limited
number of countries that have ratified it since its adoption in 2016.
It comparatively engages with the provisions of the Inter-American
Convention on the Rights of Older Persons to argue that, beyond the
normative framing of these rights in Africa, there is a need for deliberate
and genuine commitment by governments in Africa, if the rights are to
be realised. The article advocates international, regional and national
cooperation and calls for a more liberal judicial approach, to ensure that
the Protocol’s ‘paperisation’ of the rights of older persons does not lead
or continue to lead to their pauperisation.

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AfronomicsLaw Blog, 2024

In many African countries, the protection and promotion of human rights is enshrined in national ... more In many African countries, the protection and promotion of human rights is enshrined in national laws including domestic constitutions, policies, and guidelines. Many African countries are signatories to a plethora of conventions on human rights including the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. However, in several African countries, ordinarily, socio-economic rights are not enforceable because socio-economic rights are not explicitly provided in many national constitutions. Furthermore, right to research as an evolutive and burgeoning framework in the African copyright system adds to this mix.

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Transnational Dispute Management, Jun 16, 2021

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) recognises the Regional Economic Commu... more The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) recognises the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the building blocs for continent-wide integration in line with the historical efforts reflected in the Lagos Action Plan of 1980 and the transitional plan of the African Union (AU) articulated in the 1991 Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty). The AfCFTA enjoins State Parties that are members of other RECs, which have attained among themselves higher levels of elimination of customs duties and trade barriers than those provided for under the Protocol, to continue maintaining this, and where possible improve upon, existing higher levels of trade liberalisation among themselves. While RECs are fundamental to the African integration experience and are considered the building blocs of AfCFTA, several challenges may emerge. This paper examines the prospects and challenges of RECs under the recently established AfCFTA regime.N/

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Dispute is a natural consequence of human interactions and dispute resolution mechanisms are crit... more Dispute is a natural consequence of human interactions and dispute resolution mechanisms are critical to the peace and harmonious coexistence of every society. In pre-colonial times when there were no western styled public courts in many African societies, customary arbitration was an integral part of the dispute resolution mechanisms, and it is argued that it has remained even so today. In Nigeria, customary arbitration remains relevant and has received judicial approval by the Supreme Court in a plethora of cases. This paper discusses recent judicial developments on customary arbitration focusing on a recent judgment of the Nigerian Supreme Court-Umeadi v Chibunze and its implications on customary arbitration in the highly plural Nigerian legal system. Chibunze v Umeadi recognised the validity of traditional oath-taking as a feature of customary arbitration for parties who rely on it. This paper argues that customary arbitration remains one of the most common indigenous dispute resolution mechanisms in Nigeria. This paper seeks to interrogate the practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria, ascertain the conditions for its validity and evaluate the utility of traditional oath-taking as a constituent

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Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Eghosa Ekhator, ‘Environmental Justice in the Global South: Overview of some Contemporary Developments’. Human Rights Centre (HRC) Guest Speaker Series: Sustainability, Environment, Law, and Rights. Organised by the Human Rights Centre and University of Essex Law School, 15 June 2023

Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or comm... more Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or communities and it is a culmination of more than 500 years of struggle by people of colour in the USA to achieve this (Ekhator 2014). Historically, environmental justice emerged as a counter measure to the discontent and inherent racism entrenched in government policies in the Deep South of the USA in the 1960s and 1970s. The significance of the doctrine varies depending on the context or the country in focus (Ekhator 2017). However, it is now applied to a widening spectrum of serious social concerns, particularly those related to communities that suffer from social inequity attributed to environmental inequalities (Ako 2009). The environmental justice doctrine has flourished and it has spread to all corners of the world, especially areas with a history of environmental abuse or degradation. Countries to which the doctrine has diffused include Nigeria, South Africa, and India, amongst others.
This presentation focuses on the environmental justice paradigm in the Global South and highlights some of the recent trends and developments in this sphere. Some of the issues that will be in focus in this presentation include the conceptualisation of environmental justice doctrine from Global South perspectives, role of sub-regional and regional courts/mechanisms in the promotion of environmental justice, collaboration between western-based NGOs and NGOs in the Global South, the utility of the right to environment as one of the strategies of promoting environmental justice in the Global South and the role of environmental justice paradigm in the conceptualisation of climate litigation jurisprudence in the Global South.
Thus, in essence, this presentation argues that ‘from its origins in grassroots activism and engaged sociological scholarship, primarily in the USA, environmental justice research has generated what is now a vast, multi-disciplinary literature encompassing a wide range of issues and politics’ in the Global South (Holifield, Chakraborty & Walker 2017).

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Benson Idahosa Law Journal , 2015

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates i... more The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) regulates international transactions or international sale of goods. It is one of the documents produced through the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The CISG attempts to bridge the gap between the different legal systems of the world, mainly between the civil law French and German sub-traditions and the common law namely, English and American sub-traditions, by creating a uniform law for the international sale of goods. The CISG governs the formation of the contract of sale as well as the rights and obligations of the buyer and seller, including their remedies. This paper examines the extent to which the CISG has been able to achieve compromises in the harmonization of international transactions amongst different countries notwithstanding its inherent contradictions.

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Environmental Law Review, 2015

There has been never-ending debate concerning the right to a healthy environment and the extent t... more There has been never-ending debate concerning the right to a healthy environment and the extent to which the law has provided for or guaranteed the right in national and international contexts. Whilst some countries have expressly recognised the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions and subsidiary laws, others have relied on regional instruments and treaties to guarantee such rights, especially where domestic legislation is either lacking, inadequate or ineffective. This article will contend that constitutionalising (rather than regionalising before a human rights commission or treaty) environmental rights domestically would improve environmental outcomes in Nigeria. To further buttress the constitutionalisation argument, this article will undertake a critical analysis of the right to the environment in South Africa which has constitutionalised the right to the environment.

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Kim Bouwer, Uzuazo Etemire, Tracy-Lynn Field and Ademola Oluborode Jegede (eds) Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa (Bristol University Press), 2024

In Nigeria, many of its citizens are quite vulnerable to the vagaries or negative impacts of clim... more In Nigeria, many of its citizens are quite vulnerable to the vagaries or negative impacts of climate change. This has been exacerbated by a plethora of factors not limited to poverty, the activities of multinational companies (MNCs) and endemic environmental injustice issues in many parts of the country especially the Niger Delta region (wherein the oil and gas industry is located). Arguably, the impacts of climate change will have negative consequences on Nigerians (especially in the Niger Delta).
This chapter relies on climate justice as its analytical lens. Climate justice which is an offshoot of the environmental justice paradigm can be used to improve access to justice and protect climate change victims in Nigeria. The chapter also highlights some of the recent reforms or initiatives by the Nigerian government in improving climate justice in the country. This chapter discusses the potential of climate change litigation in Nigeria as one of the strategies that can be used in ventilating climate justice issues in the country.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Umewaen: Journal of Benin and Edo Studies, 2020

There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in precolon... more There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in precolonial Africa that promoted justice, peace, and order among people and communities. Special provisions such as collective responsibility in legal personality, the law of primogeniture, the fusion of laws and religion in theory and practice, and the recognition of societal status and political position in legal proceedings amongst other legal concepts were incorporated into the body of laws in Benin. Previous intellectual efforts center on the political, economic, and social aspects of history, largely neglecting these legal dynamics and other vital areas of the kingdom's organization. Hence, this study analyzes indigenous legal concepts in the Benin Kingdom using several varieties of primary and secondary sources. It contends that Benin, like other African societies, developed practical and useful legal concepts that helped in the consolidation of peace and harmony throughout its length and breadth, and that these indigenous Benin legal concepts were in force till 1897.

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The)

The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country... more The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country does not imply that the same approach or strategy would be successful when replicated in another country because there is no ‘one-size-fits-all approach’ to policy implementation. The rationale for the above assertion is that institutions play a major role in the success of any policy. Undoubtedly, institutional approach provides a solid foundation to explore the interplay between formulation of policies and their effective implementation. Therefore, for an environmental policy to be successfully implemented, the institutional peculiarity of the country must be considered. This article explores the role of informal institutions (embedded institutions) in policy implementation focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa with specific focus on Nigeria. It provides theoretical basis for an informal institutional approach in environmental policy implementation. This article suggests that the institution...

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In Obasesam Okoi and Victoria R. Nalule (eds) Governing Natural Resources for Sustainable Peace in Africa Environmental Justice and Conflict Resolution (Routledge 2024) pages 145-168, 2024

Using Nigeria as a case study, this chapter analyses some of the protracted natural resource conf... more Using Nigeria as a case study, this chapter analyses some of the protracted natural resource conflicts and their impact on the economy and environment in Africa. In many parts of the continent, the absence of the rule of law has exacerbated natural resource conflicts. This chapter relies on the environmental justice paradigm to critique the rule of law conundrum in natural resource governance in Africa. Arguably, the environmental justice paradigm can be deployed as a strategic tool to address natural resource conflicts in Africa. Hence, this chapter argues that there are inherent limitations to simply enforcing the rule of law in African countries since governments, who are the enforcers of laws, are usually directly or indirectly involved in natural resource conflicts. Thus, we argued that guaranteeing the enforcement of the rule of law would then depend on the integration of environmental justice principles into the laws and policies governing resource extraction and use in Africa.
The chapter concludes by recommending some practical reform measures framed from the environmental justice paradigm that could be used to address the challenges associated with natural resource conflicts in Africa. Drawing lessons from Nigeria, this chapter can be useful to other African countries as well. To achieve this, a lesson-learned approach is important. This requires broad discussions of the key reforms necessary using Nigeria as an example.

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 2016

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Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 2022

The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country... more The success of an approach or strategy for the implementation of legal instruments in one country does not imply that the same approach or strategy would be successful when replicated in another country because there is no 'one-size-fits-all approach' to policy implementation. The rationale for the above assertion is that institutions play a major role in the success of any policy. Undoubtedly, institutional approach provides a solid foundation to explore the interplay between formulation of policies and their effective implementation. Therefore, for an environmental policy to be successfully implemented, the institutional peculiarity of the country must be considered. This article explores the role of informal institutions (embedded institutions) in policy implementation focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa with specific focus on Nigeria. It provides theoretical basis for an informal institutional approach in environmental policy implementation. This article suggests that the institutional approach can be extended to environmental protection and management through informal institutions.

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Pretoria University Press, Dec 1, 2019

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121 (02) German Journal of Comparative Law (Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft) pages 118-130, 2022

In the absence of an explicit international framework on the regulation of the cross-border activ... more In the absence of an explicit international framework on the regulation of the cross-border activities of multinational corporations (MNCs), coupled with the barriers to accessing environmental justice through litigation in domestic courts, many victims of environmental injustice now institute cases in foreign jurisdictions especially the home states of the MNCs because they believe they will get justice in those courts. On the
other hand, there is plethora of sub-regional institutions that have been relied upon by victims of environmental injustices arising from activities of MNCs in Africa. This article focuses on the reliance on sub-regional judiciaries in Africa by different stakeholders including oil producing communities, individuals, and other relevant
stakeholders amongst others. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice (ECCJ) is used as the case-study in this article. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria have also relied on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice (ECCJ) to seek redress for victims of environmental injustice in Nigeria.

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Social Science Research Network, 2020

There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in pre-colo... more There were salient novelties in the legal system of the Benin Kingdom and other areas in pre-colonial Africa that promoted justice, peace, and order among people and communities. Special provisions such as collective responsibility in legal personality, the law of primogeniture, the fusion of laws and religion in theory and practice, and the recognition of societal status and political position in legal proceedings amongst other legal concepts were incorporated into the body of laws in Benin. Previous intellectual efforts center on the political, economic, and social aspects of history, largely neglecting these legal dynamics and other vital areas of the kingdom's organization. Hence, this study analyzes indigenous legal concepts in the Benin Kingdom using several varieties of primary and secondary sources. It contends that Benin, like other African societies, developed practical and useful legal concepts that helped in the consolidation of peace and harmony throughout its length and breadth, and that these indigenous Benin legal concepts were in force till 1897.N/

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Brazilian Journal of Development, 2022

The transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy has become a topical issue... more The transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable sources of energy has become a topical issue that is likely to remain in the front burner of stakeholders as governments and businesses gradually move towards low-carbon economies. This move has been partly accelerated by the need to combat climate change and greenhouse gases (GHG). The move towards more sustainable energy sources has led to an upsurge in the number of international mechanisms such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP 15) (and a plethora of regional and domestic initiatives). Regulations and standardisation have been identified as strategic tools that can play critical roles in the drive towards energy transition. Regulation in this context refers to laws or other form of instruments with legal backing and having cohesiveness, while Standardisation entails the voluntary process of developing technical specifications based on consensus among stakeholders.
The focus of this paper is how these two strategic tools interact and how they can be used to, enhance creativity, and further accelerate the drive towards energy transition and therefore more sustainable sources of energy.

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Guest Lecture to University of West Indies LLM Class on Oil and Gas law, 16 November 2020

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Justiciability of Human Rights Law in Domestic Jurisdictions, 2015

The legal framework regulating socio-economic rights in Nigeria is ambiguous. These rights, liste... more The legal framework regulating socio-economic rights in Nigeria is ambiguous. These rights, listed under Section II of the constitution titled Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles, are non-justiciable by virtue of section 6(6)(c) of the constitution. However, Nigeria as a dualist state has adopted (ratified and domesticated) the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (African Charter) in accordance with relevant constitutional provisions. Therefore, the provisions of the African Charter are (arguably) part and parcel of Nigeria’s laws, thus ‘justiciable’.

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African Human Rights Journal, 2021

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, it has been reported that older pe... more Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the
world, it has been reported that older persons have suffered acute
hardship and fatalities more than any other age group. According to the
World Health Organisation the fatality rate among older persons is five
times the global average, and the United Nations has predicted that the
mortality rate could climb even higher. The situation is aggravated on
the African continent as a result of a shortage of medical personnel and
other resources, as well as inadequate palliative measures to address the
issues around the pandemic. Despite the provisions in the African Charter
on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter
on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa which seek to provide some
safety nets, many of these senior citizens continue to suffer untold socio-economic hardship. Adopting an analytical and doctrinal methodology, this article examines the Protocol, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and several United Nations
policy documents aimed at realising the socio-economic rights of older
persons. The article finds that there is a lack of political commitment to
operationalise the provisions of the Protocol, as evinced by the limited
number of countries that have ratified it since its adoption in 2016.
It comparatively engages with the provisions of the Inter-American
Convention on the Rights of Older Persons to argue that, beyond the
normative framing of these rights in Africa, there is a need for deliberate
and genuine commitment by governments in Africa, if the rights are to
be realised. The article advocates international, regional and national
cooperation and calls for a more liberal judicial approach, to ensure that
the Protocol’s ‘paperisation’ of the rights of older persons does not lead
or continue to lead to their pauperisation.

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Paper presented at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law Workshop Series on "Private International Law in Africa" , 2023

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Eghosa Ekhator, ‘Environmental Justice in the Global South: Overview of some Contemporary Developments’. Human Rights Centre (HRC) Guest Speaker Series: Sustainability, Environment, Law, and Rights. Organised by the Human Rights Centre and University of Essex Law School, 15 June 2023, 2023

Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or comm... more Environmental justice is a new paradigm for achieving healthy and sustainable environment or communities and it is a culmination of more than 500 years of struggle by people of colour in the USA to achieve this (Ekhator 2014). Historically, environmental justice emerged as a counter measure to the discontent and inherent racism entrenched in government policies in the Deep South of the USA in the 1960s and 1970s. The significance of the doctrine varies depending on the context or the country in focus (Ekhator 2017). However, it is now applied to a widening spectrum of serious social concerns, particularly those related to communities that suffer from social inequity attributed to environmental inequalities (Ako 2009). The environmental justice doctrine has flourished and it has spread to all corners of the world, especially areas with a history of environmental abuse or degradation. Countries to which the doctrine has diffused include Nigeria, South Africa, and India, amongst others.
This presentation focuses on the environmental justice paradigm in the Global South and highlights some of the recent trends and developments in this sphere. Some of the issues that will be in focus in this presentation include the conceptualisation of environmental justice doctrine from Global South perspectives, role of sub-regional and regional courts/mechanisms in the promotion of environmental justice, collaboration between western-based NGOs and NGOs in the Global South, the utility of the right to environment as one of the strategies of promoting environmental justice in the Global South and the role of environmental justice paradigm in the conceptualisation of climate litigation jurisprudence in the Global South.
Thus, in essence, this presentation argues that ‘from its origins in grassroots activism and engaged sociological scholarship, primarily in the USA, environmental justice research has generated what is now a vast, multi-disciplinary literature encompassing a wide range of issues and politics’ in the Global South (Holifield, Chakraborty & Walker 2017).

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Paper presented at the British Academy Midlands Early Career Interdisciplinary Conference on Decolonising Epistemologies, Critical Theories and Research Methods at Aston University, United Kingdom., 2023

Precolonial African societies and institutions also developed structures and norms that embodied ... more Precolonial African societies and institutions also developed structures and norms that embodied the uniqueness of their own trading arrangements.
This paper will discuss some of the wholly indigenous trading devices or mechanisms that related to commercial trading in precolonial era in Africa. This paper contends that precolonial Africans and foreign traders engaged in trading activities in Africa akin to lex mercatoria in Europe notwithstanding that there was no explicit reference to the concept of lex mercatoria in that era in Africa. Thus, many African societies engaged in foreign or international trade throughout history, and I have termed these international trading interactions in precolonial African societies as ‘Lex Mercatoria Africana’.

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This presentation focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on the environment and environmental law rese... more This presentation focuses on the impact of Covid-19 on the environment and environmental law research in Africa

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NGOs have played major roles in Nigeria. For example, they have been at the forefront of promotin... more NGOs have played major roles in Nigeria. For example, they have been at the forefront of promoting human and environmental rights amongst others. This paper will focus on the roles NGOs are playing in Nigeria in ameliorating the negative impacts of government or public acquisition of lands in Nigeria.

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The concept of corruption is culture-bound. In the UK, it is unheard off and criminal for public ... more The concept of corruption is culture-bound. In the UK, it is unheard off and criminal for public officers to accept gifts. However, corruption is seen to be part of the culture of many developing (especially Asian and African) countries. In Nigeria, corruption is seen to be part of the administrative or bureaucratic culture and a way of life.
This paper will argue that because of the institutional failures of the Nigerian state in the area of corruption, recourse to the ‘traditional’ oath taking akin to the variant used in customary law/arbitration cases amongst natives in corruption cases might be the solution.

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Guest Lecture to University of West Indies LLM Class on Oil and Gas law, 16 November 2020

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Women in Nigeria face many challenges and discriminatory practices under some extant laws. This p... more Women in Nigeria face many challenges and discriminatory practices under some extant laws. This presentation focuses on some of these laws and their impacts on women in Nigeria. The Nigerian society is inherently patriarchal. This is due to the influence of the various religions and customs in many parts of Nigeria. Women are seen as the ‘weaker sex’ and discriminatory practices by the state and society (especially by men) are condoned. This paper will highlight aspects of Nigerian laws accentuating discrimination against women and some of these laws include the Labour Act, the Police Act, customary practices and sexual violence laws amongst others. Furthermore, this paper highlights some of the reforms that have impacted positively on the promotion and protection of women rights in Nigeria. These reforms include the appointment of female judges to the Supreme Court , the enactment of laws such as the Protection Against Domestic Violence (Lagos State) 2007 and Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 amongst others.

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The concept of corruption is culture-bound. In the UK, it is unusual and criminal for public offi... more The concept of corruption is culture-bound. In the UK, it is unusual and criminal for public officers to accept gifts. However, corruption is seen to be part of the culture of many developing (especially Asian and African) countries. In Nigeria, corruption is seen to be a negative part of the administrative or bureaucratic culture and a way of life. This paper will argue that because of the institutional failures of the Nigerian state in the area of corruption, recourse to the 'traditional' oath-taking akin to the variant used in customary arbitration cases amongst many communities (in Nigeria) to corruption cases might be a useful strategy to help fight the scourge of corruption. Furthermore, this chapter suggests that that the Nigerian government should extend the jurisdiction of customary courts in Nigeria to try corruption cases arising from the anti-corruption statutes enacted since the return of democracy in 1999. This will reduce the pressure on the superior courts of records in the country.

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Due to the ineffectiveness of the extant regulatory framework (not limited to home country, host ... more Due to the ineffectiveness of the extant regulatory framework (not limited to home country, host country and international law) governing the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs), new regulatory paradigms have been advocated by scholars. Arguably, the African Union (AU) (and its mechanisms) can be the basis of MNC regulation in Africa. However, regulation of the activities of MNCs operating in Africa appears not to be among the major or pressing priorities of the African Union (AU) and its institutions. There is no normative and institutional framework at the AU level regulating the activities of MNCs in Africa. There are, however, moves to design measures to redress this anomaly. This article will focus on the development of recent strategies by the AU and its institutions to " regulate " the activities of MNCs in Africa and its implications in Nigeria.

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