Critical Assessment of Environmental Law in Nigeria

Running head: CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN NIGERIA
Critical Assessment of Environmental Law in Nigeria
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1CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN NIGERIA
Table of Contents
1. Background – Understanding the Enforcement of Environmental Law and Policy in
Nigeria........................................................................................................................................2
2. Regulations on Environmental Protection in Nigeria.........................................................5
2.1. Regulations regarding the use of Environmental Permits...........................................5
2.2. Regulations on Waste Management in Nigeria...........................................................6
2.3. Approach under Nigerian Law to Contaminated Land...............................................9
2.4. Liabilities concerning Breach of Environmental Law in Nigeria.............................10
3. Problems in Environmental Governance in Nigeria.........................................................11
3.1. Lack of Funding and Weak Institutional Capacity....................................................12
3.2. Corruption in Governance and Lack of Human Resources.......................................12
3.3. Indifference of Nigerian Government towards Environmental Protection...............12
3.4. Glitches in the Implementation of Environmental Law and Policy..........................13
4. Recommendations to Address the Problem of Poor Environmental Governance and Law
Implementation in Nigeria.......................................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................15

2CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN NIGERIA
1. Background – Understanding the Enforcement of Environmental Law and
Policy in Nigeria
Environmental law and policy in the country of Nigeria has its basis in the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999. According to section 20 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nigerian state level authorities have the
power to both protect as well as improve the country’s environment while safeguarding the
land, air water, forests and the wildlife of Nigeria at the same given time.1 Additionally,
provision 2 of the country’s Environmental Assessment Protection Act which came into
being in 1992, stipulates that the private or the public sector of Nigerian economy will not
authorize, embark on or undertake activities or projects without first taking consideration the
possible impact that these are likely to have on the natural environment. A number of legal
instruments and regulations have been promulgated by the Nigerian administration for
safeguarding the natural environment in Nigeria. Examples include the Federal
Environmental Protection Agency Act that was drafted in 1988, the Environmental Impact
Assessment Act which was drafted in the year 1992 and the Harmful Wastes Act which was
drafted in 1988. When it comes to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act, it needs
to be remembered that a number of smaller regulations were introduced pursuant to this legal
instrument being formulated. The first of these are the National Environmental Protection
Regulations pertaining to facilities generating wastes and pollution abatement in industries
and the second is the National Environmental Protection Regulations pertaining to the
management of hazardous and solid wastes.2 It is the responsibility of the Nigerian Federal
Ministry for the Environment to both administer as well as enforce environmental laws in the
1 Akanni P, A OkeO Akpomiemie, 'Impact Of Environmental Factors On Building Project Performance In Delta
State, Nigeria' (2015) 11 HBRC Journal
2 R Ako and EO Ekhator, 'The Civil Society And The Regulation Of The Extractive Industry In Nigeria' (2019)
7 Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy.

3CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN NIGERIA
country of Nigeria. Such a function was assumed by the Federal Ministry in the year of 1999,
at a time when the FEPA or Federal Environmental Protection Act came into being. A
number of regulations have been published by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of the
Environment regarding the manner in which the FEPA Act and other legislations pertaining
to environmental protection are to be implemented. Procedures for evaluating reports on
environmental impact assessment have also been established by the Nigerian Federal
Ministry for the Environment.3
1.1. Effective Guidelines to Control the Impact of Industry on the Natural
Environment
There are a number of other regulatory agencies in Nigeria that have issued guidelines
for regulating the impact that specific industries are likely to have on the natural environment
of the country. A well known example in this respect is the guidelines and standards that have
been established for the protection of the natural environment by the Nigerian petroleum
industry in 2002, which was published by the Nigerian Department for Petroleum Resources
or DPR. Over and above the FEPA Act however, local and state governments in Nigeria can
set up their very own bodies or agencies for environmental protection with states in the
country also being empowered to introduce laws for the protection of the environment that
fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of that specific state.4 There are environmental laws and
environmental agencies in every Nigerian state. Abuja for instance, which is the Federal
Capital Territory of Nigeria, has introduced Environmental Protection Board Regulations in
2005 that are concerned with environmental monitoring and the control of solid waste
generation. The state of Lagos introduced a legislation known as the State Environmental
Protection Agency law for controlling and monitoring waste disposal in Lagos while also
3 A Ayanlade and N Drake, 'Forest Loss In Different Ecological Zones Of The Niger Delta, Nigeria: Evidence
From Remote Sensing' (2016) 81 Geo-Journal.
4 G Danbaba and others, 'Assessment Of Implementation Of The Environmental Sanitation Policy In The
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Nigeria.' (2019) 2 Global Journal of Social Sciences Studies,.