Oil Industry, Oil Spills and Environmental Justice in Developing Countries : A Case Study of Nigeria' (original) (raw)
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OIL SPILLAGE IN THE NIGER DELTA: A COMPLEX INSTANCE OF GROSS ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE
Okwezuzu, G. E. “Oil Spillage in the Niger Delta Region: A Complex Instance of Gross Environmental Injustice.” (2012) East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights, 2012
This article attempts a portrayal of the extremely atrocious and monstrous environmental tragedy that has bedeviled the Nigerian Niger Delta as a result of oil pollution. It also carries out an exploration of different legal mechanisms, namely, the traditional common law approach employed in the Nigerian courts, the Alien Tort Statute in the United States, and the recent open-door for redress in the British High Court which various individuals, groups, and communities have employed to secure environmental protection in the Niger Delta with a view to ascertaining their effectiveness or otherwise in providing the desired environmental protection. It observes that the traditional common law torts of nuisance, negligence, trespass, and strict liability in the protection of the environment are largely ineffective as their application is fraught with inherent and diverse problems while the decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum appears to have rendered ineffective the Alien Tort Statute in the United States. However, with the recent Ogoni award granted by a High Court in London, there appears to be an open-door for redress in the British High Court. Finally, bearing in mind the magnitude of oil spillage and the deadly effects, it is submitted that environmental degradation in the Niger Delta amounts to genocide in disguise and therefore calls for UN unilateral intervention. In this regard, it recommends that UNEP should be mandated to carry out an independent assessment of the Niger Delta and proffer measures that would be binding on culpable parties.
An Overview of the Legal Framework for Oil Pollution in Nigeria
Oil pollution is without a doubt a serious issue in Nigeria today. Since Nigeria discovered the ‘black gold’ in Oloibiri, Bayelsa state in 1956, the environment has been wrought with oil spills which have caused the degradation of farmland and gradual destruction of aquatic life through the exploration and exploitation of crude oil. This is even more depressing considering that the general environment where these oil spills occur – the Niger Delta – is an area where the mainstay of the local environment is farming and fishing. This has caused a halt in the peoples’ occupation and more or less destroyed the local economy. This paper seeks to highlight the various legislations that have been enacted by the federal government to arrest this unfortunate reality. It will also look at the effect these laws have had on oil pollution and if they have succeeded in addressing this burning issue. Lastly, it will highlight cases that have been brought against oil companies by individuals and communities that have been severely affected by oil spills in their immediate environment.
This paper combs through the timeline of environmental challenges in the Niger-delta region highlighting the various struggle of its people against Multi-national oil companies to stop gas flaring and further degradation to their fragile ecosystem. The paper will show that there has been a systemic and calculated neglect of the region by the government of Nigeria and the oil companies which can be conceptualised as a hybrid of state sponsored crime against its people. Even though there is a dearth of Nigerian case laws highlighting the attitude of the judiciary to climate change, it will be suggested that private actions in civil liability and a conceptualisation of negligent and/or deliberate climate degrading activities as crimes against humanity and onward referral to the international criminal court might be the best solution to the problem in the Niger-Delta.
Efficacy of the Legal Framework on the Environmental Impact of Crude Oil Theft in Nigeria
2020
The issue of environmental degradation as a result of crude oil theft is fast becoming an intractable problem in Nigeria. Nigeria is reported to be losing about $7 billion annually to oil theft; crude oil theft has led to pipeline damages causing oil firms to cut output and environmental degradation through oil spillage. The FederalGovernment has enacted plethora of laws and regulations in combating the menace of crude oil theft. This paper discusses the efficacy of the Nigeria laws and regulations, the challenges of crude oil theft, the endemic consequences of oil spillage in the Nigeria environment, the economic effect of crude oil theft and the lack of sincerity of purposes of the Nigerian government in tackling crude oil theft. This paper recommends appropriate preventive pragmatic measures and policies that would pave way for absolute strict liability of the enfo...