The serie of blog posts from the EVE’s Fall School 2024 participants continues!
Braimah Abdulrasak L, and Gemima Silva e Silva are here describing the effects of crude oil spillages on the Niger Delta Region, in Nigeria.
You can read their full paper here: The crude oil paradox: navigating the legal challenges of novel entities in nigeria’s niger delta region
We also remind you that you can read the full Post-Graduate Student’s Papers Collection 2024 and all the others EVE’s Publications on our website.
Thank you so much for following along,
EVE’s Team
The Crude Oil Paradox: Navigating the Legal Challenges of Novel Entities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region
By Braimah Abdulrasak L, and Gemima Silva e Silva
The fight against environmental pollution and the pursuit for environmental justice have given rise to climate litigation worldwide. A major example is the landmark case of the Centre for Oil Pollution Watch (COPW) v. the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which has reshaped legal debates around climate litigation and environmental law (Mbadugha, 2011). Over the years, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has suffered severe environmental degradation due to frequent oil spills, which have destroyed large expanse of its ecosystem, disrupt local economies, displaced communities, and worsened socio-political tensions.
The devastating impact of oil spill on the ecosystems classifies it as novel entities within the planetary boundaries’ framework. In the Nigeria Niger Delta, decades of unchecked oil spills have led to the loss of a significant portion of the region biodiversity, causing severe environmental degradation. This ongoing crisis has triggered both immediate and long-term ecological and economic consequences, disrupting livelihoods, contaminating water sources, and undermining sustainable development efforts in the region (Ukhurebor, et al., 2023).
While scholars such as Richardson et al. (2023) and Rockström et al. (2009) argue that novel entities primarily refer to synthetic chemicals, this article classifies oil spill as a novel entity within the planetary boundaries’ framework due to it significant environmental impact thresholds (Richardson, et al., 2023; Novakovskiy, Kanev, & Markarova, 2021; Rockström, et al., 2009)
For decades, the Niger Delta Region (NDR) has faced persistent oil spillage, leading to severe environmental and socio-economic crises. These spills disrupt food chains, altering sedimentation rates (Larson, et al., 2018), and interfere with photosynthesis, resulting in morphological and anatomical changes in plant life (Abosede, 2013). Additionally, oil contamination seeps into the soil, polluting surface and groundwater, rendering it unfit for irrigation, and significantly threatening local agricultural productivity.
Niger Delta region not affected by oil spilling
Niger Delta region after the oil spilling
Since the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity in the Oloibiri community of current Balyesa State in 1956, the Niger Delta region has served as Nigeria’s economic powerhouse, contributing over 45% of the nation’s GDP and accounting for 95% of its foreign earnings through oil exports (Emeka, 2023; Sasu, 2024). Abundant hydrocarbon deposit within the region has made Nigeria ranked 11th among the world’s largest oil producers (OPEC, 2023), and the largest oil producer in Africa. Despite the immense economic benefits derived from crude oil extraction in the Niger Delta, these gains have not translated into improved living conditions for the region’s inhabitants.
Since the 1990s, activists and affected communities have persistently demanded environmental justice. However, International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other corporate entities have continued to exploit loopholes within Nigeria’s environmental laws. Specifically, the legal framework stipulates that only individuals or groups who have been directly affected—having suffered an actual or threatened violation of their legal rights or a legally protected interest—can initiate legal action for redress. This restrictive interpretation has often hindered broader advocacy efforts and delayed justice for impacted communities fueling militancy, oil bunkering, and violent agitations (Achikeh & Akpunonu, 2015; Omojimite, 2011)
In a landmark ruling in 2018, the Nigerian Supreme Court granted the Centre for Oil Pollution Watch (COPW) the legal standing to sue the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) regarding a significant environmental contamination and oil spill pollution in the Ineh and Aku streams. This decision represented a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s climate and environmental litigation history, paving the way for new avenues of legal recourse in Africa and beyond.
In Centre for Oil Pollution Watch (COPW) v. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigerian Supreme Court expanded the doctrine of locus standi in environmental litigation. COPW, an environmental NGO, sued NNPC for failing to clean up an oil spill that polluted the Ineh and Aku streams in the Acha community, affecting marine life, water supply, and local economic activities. NNPC denied responsibility, attributing the spill to sabotage, and contested COPW’s standing to sue. The trial and appellate courts ruled in NNPC’s favor, adhering to a narrow interpretation of locus standi, which traditionally required a direct, personal legal injury.
On appeal, the Supreme Court took a broader approach, recognizing the role of NGOs in environmental advocacy. It referenced international human rights law, the Nigerian Constitution, and global precedents from India and the UK, emphasizing that environmental protection is a public concern. The Court ruled that NGOs have sufficient interest to sue on behalf of affected communities, setting a precedent for future climate litigation in Nigeria. This decision aligns Nigeria with global trends in environmental law, reinforcing the judiciary’s role in protecting ecological rights and facilitating public interest litigation.
The 2018 Supreme Court ruling in favor of COPW establishes a significant precedent for other affected communities. It opens avenues for legal action against government institutions and international oil companies (IOCs) accountable for environmental degradation. This case not only reinforces the climate litigation landscape in Nigeria but also serves as a comparative model for environmental justice efforts throughout Africa and beyond.
Conclusively, with climate change litigation gaining momentum worldwide, the Nigeria Supreme Court ruling in the case between COPW v. NNPC highlights the power of legal advocacy in holding polluters accountable and ensuring that affected communities receive justice, compensation, and environmental restoration. The road ahead remains challenging, but the COPW vs. NNPC case is a step toward a cleaner, fairer, and more sustainable future for the Niger Delta and beyond.
References:
Abosede, E. E. (2013). Effects of Crude Oil Pollution on Some Soil Physical Properties. Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 6(3), 14–17.
Achikeh, C., & Akpunonu, A. C. (2015). Standing to sue: A review of the doctrine of locus standi in Nigerian jurisprudence. Madonna University Law Journal of Commercial, Private and Industrial Law – COPIL, 1(1), 61-71.
Emeka, N. L. (2023). Economy of the Niger Delta, Militancy and Class Struggle’ International. Journal of Political Science and Governance, 5(2), 88–93. doi:10.33545/26646021.2023.v5.i2b.261
Jacobson, R. S., Korte, A. R., Vertes, A., & Miller, J. H. (2020). The Molecular Composition of Soot. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 59, 4484–4490. doi:10.1002/ange.201914115
Larson, R. A., Brooks, G. R., Schwing, P. T., Holmes, C. W., Carter, S. R., & Hollander., D. J. (2018). High-Resolution Investigation of Event-Driven Sedimentation: Northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Anthropocene, 24, 40–50. doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2018.11.002
Mbadugha, J. N. (2011, May). Environmental Public Interest Litigation In Nigeria: A Case Comment On Centre For Oil Pollution Watch V Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Unizik Journal of Public And Private Law, 11.
Novakovskiy, A., Kanev, V. A., & Markarova, M. Y. (2021). Long-term dynamics of plant communities after biological remediation of oil-contaminated soils in far north. Sci Rep, 4888. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-84226-5
Omojimite, B. U. (2011). The Economic Dimensions of the Niger Delta Ethnic Conflicts. International Association of African Researchers and Reviewers, 5(5), 46–55. doi:10.4314/afrrev.v5i5.5
OPEC. (2023). OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin.
Richardson, K., Steffen2, W., Lucht, W., Bendtsen, J., Cornell, S. E., Donges, J. F., . . . Hofma, M. (2023, september 13). Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Science Advance, 9, 37. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., Lambin, E., . . . Sve. (2009). Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity. Ecology and Society, 14(2), 32. Retrieved from http://www. ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art32/
Sasu, D. D. (2024). Contribution of Oil and Natural Gas Sector to GDP in Nigeria 2010–2023. Statista. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1165865/contribution-of-oil-sector-to-gdp-in-nigeria/
Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., . . . Veerabh. (2015, Jan 15). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223). doi:10.1126/science.1259855
Ukhurebor, K. E., Ngonso, B. F., Egielewa, P. E., Cirella, G. T., Akinsehinde, B. O., & Balogune., V. A. (2023). Petroleum spills and the communicative response from petroleum agencies and companies: Impact assessment from the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The Extractive Industries and Society, 15. doi:10.1016/j.exis.2023.101331.
World bank. (2004). Taxation and State Participation in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector. Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) Technical paper; no. ESM 057. , World Bank, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18078