1.INTRODUCTION

Nigeria, located in West Africa, has a total land area of 983,213 square

kilometres. Presently, its estimated population is over 150 million people

(World Bank Population figures) yielding an average density of more than

120persons per square kilometres.

Industrial activities, in its modern forms, are relatively recent in the history

of Nigeria’s economic development. During the pre-colonial period,

Nigeria featured considerable craft industry as modern factory activity was

then not known.

With the advent of the Second World War and its aftermath, the economy

of Nigeria changed tremendously and there were demands from Europe for

industrial raw materials. With time, due to the low technological base,

industrial development took on the assembly-type pattern of import

substitution. However, political self determination since 1960 did provide

the opportunity for improving on its import substitution strategy as well as

developing its potentials for real industrial take off through capital goods

industry.

Prior to the discovery of crude oil in Oloibiri, Rivers State in 1956,

agriculture (before 1970) was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. The

oil boom witnessed in the 1970s led to a tremendous increase in industrial

activities. With financial resources available from oil and no development

policy, unguided urbanization and industrialization took place. As desirable

and necessary as this development was, it became an albatross not of itself

but because of the lack of appropriate environmental protection policies to

guide it.

The result was the indiscriminate siting of industries, deforestation and

desertification, disregarding the need for environmental concern. The

process technology of some of these industries often resulted in

unacceptable levels of toxic and dangerous industrial wastes and effluent

emissions. These culminated in the degradation of the environment and

devastating ecological and human disasters.

As a result of these, the need to combine industrial development and

environmental protection arose. Acts of legislation for environmental

protection, known as environmental laws, were then enacted.

This paper highlights the various challenges encountered in establishing an

effective environmental enforcement programme and the solutions

proffered by the government in tackling these problems. Measures are also

advocated for improved implementation of environmental pollution control

laws in Nigeria.

2. AN OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN

NIGERIA

Oil is the primary base of Nigeria’s economy and is also the cause of major

environmental and social problems in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Over the years, oil exploration, production, and refinement in Nigeria has

resulted in various environmental and ecological problems that range from

oil spills, gas flares, habitat destruction, air and water pollution, and land

degradation. Also, a major cause of oil pollution in that same region is also

to a great extent, from the activities of illegal oil bunkering and illegal

refineries operated indigenes and some highly placed individuals in

government. The chemical properties of spilled oil often affect the

productiveness of soil and pollute water bodies, thereby causing irreparable

damage to agricultural lands as well as aquatic bodies. Gas flaring is a

significant environmental and economic problem in and Nigeria emits

approximately 70 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually (US EIA

1999)This adversely affects the socio-economic actives of local

communities, which is primarily based on fishing and farming (Egunjobi

1993). . It is estimated that in one region alone in the Niger Delta, flaring is

statistically likely to cause 49 premature deaths, 5000 respiratory illnesses

among children and some 120,000 asthma attacks and 8 additional causes

of cancer each year ( Environmental Rights Action and the Climate Justice

Programme).

Water Pollution

According to Anukam (1997), the main source of water pollution in

Nigeria has to do with forestry activities. Deforestation and improper soil

tillage practices increase the concentration of soil particles that make their

way into water bodies and in turn increases their sediment loads.. The

discharge of industrial waste materials into bodies of water is another major

source of pollution in Nigeria. Discharges from industries such as

petroleum, mining, iron and steel, pharmaceuticals, and textiles among

others have increased the contents of sulfates and nitrates in water bodies

and has altered properties such as color and odor (Adelegan 2004) These

metals and other chemical substance increase the toxicity of water bodies

as well as soils.. A large percentage of Nigerians derive most of their

domestic and drinking water from ponds, stream, and shallow wells.

Hence, water pollution is a major health concern that places the health of

about 40 million people at risk of diseases such as cholera, dysentery,

diarrhea, and typhoid (Anukam 1997, Adelegan 2004, Orubu 2006).

Domestic and Industrial Waste

The improper disposal and ineffective management of municipal solid

waste and industrial waste creates major environmental and aesthetic

problems in most of Nigeria’s urban areas. Due to overpopulation and the

creation of slums, most municipal areas currently generate more waste than

they can manage (Ogbonna and Ekweozor 2002). This has led to the

accumulation of waste heaps in “several areas, blocking motorways and

making passage along alleys and pavements difficult” (Ajayi and

Ikporokpo 2005). The most common method of waste disposal in Nigeria is

waste transfer from one region to another and incineration. The first

involves the transfer of waste from a region that is considered to have a

higher aesthetic value to one that has a lower one. The waste incineration

method of waste disposal often results in air pollution due to the release of

gases such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen,

halogenated carbons, and other particulate matter.

3.HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ENVIRONMENTAL

POLLUTION LAWS IN NIGERIA.

For many years, the major preoccupation of successive Nigerian

governments had been the provision of basic social amenities.

Environmental protection was synonymous with conservation of natural

resources, while concerns for industrial pollution control and hazardous

waste management were treated as ambiguous and as an attempt to slow

down the pace of industrialization. There were no laws on industrial

pollution and hazardous wastes. Industrialization was considered a key

indicator of development. States and Municipal governments gave tax and

other concessions to lure industrialists to establish industries in their

domain, and the citizens being uninformed, lived happily with the resultant

pollution and hazardous wastes.

Nigeria attended the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment,

the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and ratified several

other International Environmental Conventions. These ignited the

consciousness of our government on the need to evolve a holistic rather

than sectoral approach to environmental protection and preservation. Other

efforts and regional initiatives such as the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980

also reinforced this emerging consciousness for environmental protection.

In 1981, a bill for the establishment of a Federal Environmental Protection

Agency was placed before parliament. Meanwhile a small unit called

Environmental Planning and Protection Division in the Federal Ministry of

Works and Housing was handling environmental protection. But nothing

happened to the bill and the horrendous situation of industrial pollution

described earlier continued throughout most of the 80s.

The uncheckmated assault on the environment continued. The worst culprit

was the oil and gas industry as it generated the highest volume of toxic

wastes. The SPDC Forcados Terminal tank failure of i978 and the Abudu

pipeline incident of 1982 let out a combined estimate of 600,000 barrels of

crude oil into the environment. The oil flowed into the nearby villages

leaving untold destruction behind. The crops withered, the soil dried up and

marine life died. On January 17 1980, a blowout fron the Texaco Finima-5

offshore station spilled 37 million litres of crude oil into the environment.

Four villages, Sangama and Finima rivers were heavily polluted, leaving

180 people dead. 350 hectares of mangrove forest was also destroyed. On

several occasions, people interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that

spills in their area had made people sick who drank the water, especially

children.

The Nigerian government was still in a state of environmental lethargy. Its

past efforts in environmental protection (pre-and-post independence) were

geared primarily either towards safety or the protection and conservation of

the economically important natural resources. They were narrow in scope

and spatially restricted. This is clearly demonstrated by the list of

environmental laws which include:

1. Oil Pipeline Act. 1956.

2. Forestry Act. 1958.

3. Minerals Act. 1958

4. Destruction of Mosquitoes Act. 1958.

5. Public Health Act. 1958.

6. Oil in Navigable Water Decree of 1968

7. Associated Gas Injection Act of 1969

7. Chad Basin Development Act 1973

Under such a state of lethargy in environmental protection, a strong catalyst

was needed to wake up both government and the populace to their

responsibilities. The Koko incident of June 1988 was the much needed

catalyst which rudely jolted the government to the reality of toxic wastes.

Five cargoes totaling 3,884 tonnes of toxic waste had been dumped in

Koko, a small port town in Delta State. The act had been perpetrated by

some Italian nationals in active connivance of an ignorant villager, Sunday

Nana for a miserable sum of N500.00 monthly.

Prior to 1988, the government of Nigeria had no meaningful environmental

policy. The incident awoke the consciousness of the government and the

people to environmental protection. A Ministerial Task Force was

immediately set up to evacuate the waste within six weeks. The Nigerian

government then came out with its first policy statement on environmental

protection and went a step further to enact the Harmful Wastes (Special

Criminal Provision etc.) Act, 1988, which makes it an offence for any

person to “carry, deposit, dump, or be in possession, for the purpose of

carrying, depositing or dumping, any harmful waste anywhere on Nigerian

soil, inland waters or seas”.

In December 1988, The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA)

was established by Decree 58 of 1988 of the FEPA Decree and as amended

by Decree 59 of 1992. FEPA was given responsibility for control over

Nigeria’s environment, its resources, exploitation and management and the

development of processes and policies to achieve this. FEPA launched the

National Policy on the Environment (NPE) in 27th November 1989, with

the policy goal of achieving sustainable development. It also published

other sectoral regulations including

National Guidelines and Standards for Environmental Pollution

Control in Nigeria

The National Effluents Limitations Regulations S.I.8. of 1991 which

make it mandatory for industrial facilities generating wastes to install

at commencement of operations, anti-pollution equipment for

detoxification of effluents and chemical discharges. The regulations

also spell out by industrial categories, crucial parameters and their

limits in effluents or emissions and prescribe penalties for their

contravention.

National Environmental Protection (Pollution Abatement in

Industries and Facilities Generating Wastes) Regulation 1991

The Management of Solid and Hazardous Wastes Regulations 1991

which give a comprehensive list of dangerous and hazardous wastes.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Decree 86 of 1992.

which is to infuse environmental considerations into development

project planning and execution. It prescribes the guidelines for EIA

studies; spells out the project areas and sizes of projects requiring

EIA in all areas of national development and the restrictions on

public or private projects without prior consideration of the

environmental impact.

However in the oil industry, the principal legislation was the Petroleum Act

1969 and all derivative regulations charged the Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR) among others with pollution abatement. The Department

of Petroleum Resources (DPR), an arm of the Ministry of Petroleum

Resources, recognizing that the activities of the petroleum industry has

serious environmental impacts, also decided to set out comprehensive

standards and guidelines to direct the execution of projects with proper

consideration for the environment. The DPR Environmental Guidelines and

Standards (EGAS) of 1991 for the petroleum industry is a comprehensive

working document with serious consideration for the preservation and

protection of the Niger Delta, and thus the Nigerian environment.

States and Local Government Councils (LG) which comprise the second

and third tiers of government were encouraged under Decree 59 of the

FEPA Decree 1992 to set up their own environmental protection agencies.

On 12th October 1999, the Federal Ministry of Environment was created

after the decree establishing FEPA had been repealed. FEPA was absorbed

and its functions taken over by the FME in 1999. The Federal Ministry of

Environment (FME) administers and enforces environmental laws in

Nigeria.

4. SYNOPSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAWS IN

NIGERIA.

The role of legislation in inducing responsible attitudes and behaviours

towards the environment cannot be overlooked. Legislation serves as an

effective instrument for environmental protection, planning, pollution,

prevention and control. The following provides a summary of Nigerian

legislation on the environment;

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999). The

constitution, as the national legal order, recognises the importance of

improving and protecting the environment and makes provision for it.

Relevant section is Section 20 which makes it an objective of the

Nigerian State to improve and protect the air, land, water, forest and

wildlife of Nigeria.9

National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement

Agency (NESREA) Act 2007, administered by the Ministry of

Environment. The National Environmental Standards and Regulation

Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act of 2007 replaced the Federal

Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Act.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act. An Environmental

Impact Assessment is an assessment of the potential impacts whether

positive or negative, of a proposed project on the natural

environment. The E.I.A as it is informally called, deals with the

considerations of environmental impact in respect of public and

private projects.

The Land Use Act, which places the ownership, management and

control of land in each state of the federation in the Governor. Land is

therefore allocated with his authority for commercial, agricultural and

other purposes.

Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions) Act. The Harmful

Waste Act prohibits, without lawful authority, the carrying, dumping

or depositing of harmful waste in the air, land or waters of Nigeria.

Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act. The Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act

is concerned with the licensing and control of refining activities like

prohibiting any unlicensed refining of hydrocarbon oils in places

other than a refinery and requires refinery to maintain pollution

prevention facilities.

Associated Gas Re-Injection Act 1979 (to discourage gas flaring by

providing for the re-injection of gas produced in association with oil

in an industrial project)

Sea Fisheries Act, that makes it illegal to take or harm fishes within

Nigerian waters by use of explosives, poisonous or noxious

substances.

Oil Pipeline Act 1956 (as amended by Oil Pipelines Act 1965),

prevents the pollution of land or any waters

Petroleum Act. The Petroleum Act and its Regulations remain the

primary legislation on oil and gas activities in Nigeria. It promotes

public safety and environmental protection.

Petroleum Products and Distribution (Management Board) Act

Nigerian Mining Corporation Act. This Act establishes the Nigerian

Mining Corporation. It has authority to engage in mining refining

activities and to construct and maintain roads, dams, reservoirs, etc.

River Basins Development Authority Act. The River Basins

Development Authority is concerned with the development of water

resources for domestic, industrial and other uses, and the control of

floods and erosion.

Agricultural (Control of Importation) Act

Water Resources Act. The Water Resources Act is targeted at

developing and improving the quality and quantity of water

resources, provides authority to make pollution prevention plans and

regulations for the protection of fisheries, flora and fauna.

Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act. The Niger-

Delta Development Commission Act is concerned with using

allocated funds to tackle ecological problems arising from the

exploration of oil minerals in the Delta. The commission, under this

act, has a duty to liaise with oil and gas companies and advice

stakeholders on the control of oil spillages, gas flaring and other

related forms of environmental pollution.

The Mineral Oil (Safety) Regulations 1963, for safe discharge of

inflammable gases and provide penalties for contravention and non-

compliance.

5. PROBLEMS MITIGATING AGAINST EFFECTIVE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN NIGERIA

Irrespective of the numerous environmental laws enacted to protect the

environment, environmental degradation has continued unabated. Oil

spillage and gas flaring activities are still commonplace in Nigeria,

especially in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Gas flaring has also continued

unabated irrespective of the Nigerian government’s directive to end flaring

by 2010. The Idoho oil spill of 1997 spilled 40,000 barrels of crude oil into

the environment. It travelled all the way from Akwa Ibom state to Lagos

state dispersing oil through the coastal states, up to the Lagos coast.

According to the Department of Petroleum Resources, between 1997 and

2001, Nigeria recorded a total number of 2,097 oil spill incidents

amounting to 1,947,600 barrels of crude oil. Thousands of barrels of oil

have been split into the environment through our oil pipelines and tanks in

the country.

Enforcement of environmental regulations is still poor as industries

continue to discharge untreated waste water into the environment. Heaps

of refuse are always a constant sight to behold in Nigerian streets and

markets. Most recently, in December 2011, the SPDC’s Bonga offshore

platform spilled about 40, 000 barrels of crude oil into Nigerian waters. On

January 16 2012, a gas explosion occurred at the Finuwa oil field owned by

Chevron Nigeria Limited. The Nigerian government was shockingly silent

about these two incidents. Listed below are some of the problems

mitigating against effective environmental protection in Nigeria.

1.Low Commitment to Implementation and Enforcement

The numerous existing environmental regulations which have been in place

for many years are never effectively implemented. It should be noted that

the number of such laws and regulations should not necessarily be the

yardstick for measuring their effectiveness because in the absence of the

much required will to enforce such laws, they become useless.

Legislation is really not the critical factor in environmental improvement as

a result of the fact that it does not guarantee that the intent of the legislator

will be implemented. The major practical problem results from the

difficulty to set up an efficient control and enforcement mechanism to

apply the legal provisions. Enforcement requires adequate monitoring

equipment, staff and funding. It is doubtful if presently these facilities exist

for the monitoring of the environment.

2. Multiplicity of Roles

The biggest problem mitigating against an effective enforcement

programme in Nigeia is the multiplicity or conflict of roles by the several

agencies involved in environmental protection. There is duplication of

functions and overlapping responsibilities in the processes of

environmental protection. Consequently, serious bottlenecks and

bureaucratic confusion are created in the process. The result is a waste of

resources, financially and materially. Two forms of role conflicts can be

identified:

· Conflicts in Federal/States/Local Government relations.

· Conflicts in Environmental-Line Ministries/Agencies relations

Conflicts in Environmental-Line Ministries/Agencies relations

One of such problems is the multiplicity of environmental protection

agencies with overlapping responsibilities rather than complementary

relationships. For instance, at the Federal level in addition to FEPA. There

are six other departments and units from various ministries that control or

manage environmental degradation. Thus, it were not uncommon to clash

over the same issue. This state of affairs has often led to uncoordinated

approach to environmental management issues. These uncoordinated

approach has not augured well for environmental protection and sustainable

development and the situation has often been exploited for the continued

abuse of the environment.

Conflicts in Federal/States/Local Government Relations.

Another problem that has bedeviled environmental protection and

management at the state level is the undue controversies as to which tier-

state or local government should be charged with environmental protection.

The cause of the problem may be unconnected with the constitutional

provision of the functions of a local government Council found in the 4th

schedule of the 1999 constitution. Item 1(b) provides as follows:

“Provision and Maintenance of public conveniences, sewage and refuse

disposal (Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999:150)”

3. Powerful Individuals and Groups

One of the greatest challenges of an enforcement department in a

developing country comes in form of threats from powerful individuals and

groups. When such individuals and/or groups own industries which in turn

form themselves into associations, they become extremely formidable. In

1998, during one of the early widely publicised inspections of highly

polluting industrial facilities in Nigeria, the Chief Executive of FEPA

personally led a team to a detergent factory which was discharging its

effluents into an open drain. The drain in turn empties into a river used as

drinking water some 600 meters downstream. The facility was given a

maximum of 90 days to correct the situation and the news about the

inspection which was to serve as a warning to other polluting facilities, was

meant to be carried out that night on the National Television Networks and

in the Newspaper the following morning. The owner of the facilities

ensured that news of the inspection was blacked out. He followed with a

telephone call two days later to confirm that he was responsible for the

news black-out and to warn that he was going to report the Agency to the

President of the Federal Republic for daring to embarrass him by saying

that his facility was polluting and trying to frustrate his efforts at providing

jobs for his people. That was how the case was swept under the carpet

4. Undue Adherence to Legalism by the Courts

Nigerian courts stick to undue legal procedures even in issues relating to

the environment. One such area is the issue of locus standi which had

tended and in many cases discouraged private actions in court against

environmental pollution. A case in point is the case of Oronto Douglas vs

SPDC and five others (Suit No FHC/25C/573/93, unreported, delivered on

17th February 1997) in which the plaintiff instituted this action on the

grounds that the intendment of the EIA Decree No 86 1992 had not been

fully complied with in the establishment of the liquefied Natural Gas

Project at Bonny.

The Decree provides inter alia for a mandatory EIA in respect of a

petrochemical company to be established and that there must be evidence

of public participation in the review before the FEPA can certify the

project. The plaintiff’s claim was not adhered to by the defendants thus the

present action.

Belgore C.J., after reviewing various judicial authorities held inter alia that

the plaintiff had no locus standi (standing to sue or the right to sue) on the

grounds that he had not shown any prima facie evidence that his right was

affected or any direct injury caused to him.

This decision has been held in many quarters as a rape in the quest for

citizen’s right in the enforcement of environmental rights. The judge hid

under the common law of tortious liability of public nuisance and rather

than liberalizing the position, stuck to undue legalism to deny the

enforcement of the provision of legislation.

5. Obsolete Laws

There is also the problem of obsolete laws which are absolutely ridiculous

in current times. These acts of legislation require review as they were

enacted several years ago when energy demands were low. The penalty for

gas flaring is N10 for every 1000 cubic feet of gas flared. This is a

miserable sum compared to the current price of crude oil which is $100 per

barrel. Most oil companies have taken advantage of this legal loophole to

embark on an endless flaring of gas. All they do is flare as much associated

gas as they can, in oil exploration, and pay the required pittance penalty

thereafter.

6. The Political Nature of the Office of the Minister of Environment

Due to the very critical nature of the environment, the Federal Ministry of

Environment requires a thoroughbred professional who is grounded in

environmental issues as the helmsman. However, this is never the case as

the Ministry is always headed by a politician with little background

knowledge about the environment. The lethargic attitude of the Federal

Ministry of Environment to environmental problems can be traced to this.

The government adduces this to the fact that professionals are versatile and

can function effectively anywhere irrespective of their educational

background or experience. We can’t possibly expect much from a

businessman as the Minister of Environment.

7. Corruption and Economic Sabotage.

The same cankerworm which permeates every sector of Nigeria still plays

a major role in hampering the environmental efforts of Nigerian

environmental regulatory agencies. The most pronounced form of

corruption is state-related, where public office holders use their positions to

misappropriate and embezzle public funds earmarked for environmental

projects to their personal bank accounts, or award the contracts for the

projects and collect a certain percentage from the contractor. Corruption

ensures that any effort geared towards effective environmental regulation in

Nigeria is stifled. Pollution acts that would have received serious attention

from the regulatory agencies receive lenient sentences or are simply swept

under the carpet after the receipt of kick-backs and bribes.

8. Millitancy and Sabotage

Since the inception of militancy in the Niger Delta region, oil bunkering

and vandalization of oil facilities has been the order of the day. These

activities by militants have led to several environmental pollution

incidences which has in no small way impacted on the environment

adversely. There seem to be no law against the activities of militants as

regards to the impact on the environment. Most times when such

incidences occur, regulatory agencies remain clueless as to whom to hold

responsible especially when these militants have proven to be invincible.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a

militant sect had last weekend blew up Agip truck line in Brass, Bayelsa

State, resulting in a loss of 4,000 barrels of oil per day. Sounding tough and

unrepentant, MEND yesterday served notice of bigger attacks on oil

installations.

8. Bureaucratic Wrangling

Bureaucracy stifles the effective execution of regulations as a result of

different levels of authorization required between the different

administrative agencies and sectors involved in environmental control. It is

common that these agencies usually fail to cooperate, compete for scarce

resources and influence over the policy agenda and other issues. Where

coordination has been possible, as in the creation of central structures to

manage the environment, the institutions are frequently interdepartmental,

rather than independent bodies. For example, the Ministry of Petroleum is

engaged in power struggles with the Department of Petroleum Resources

(DPR). As a federal government department, the Ministry of Petroleum

supervises all governmental affairs relating to petroleum.The Ministry of

Petroleum has several corporations under it, including the Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the DPR.

On the other hand, the DPR was established initially as an integral

component of NNPC but is now fully under the control and supervision of

the Ministry of Petroleum. As a delegate of the Minister, the DPR is mainly

responsible for the supervision and enforcement of all Acts and

Regulations relating to oil operations in Nigeria and the exercise of the

discretionary powers conferred on the Minister by those Acts and

Regulations.

Under the present arrangement, the DPR is not an independent body, as the

exercise of its powers depends on whatever authority is delegated to it by

the Minister. Considering the political nature of decisions relating to oil

operations in Nigeria, it would not be surprising if any decision taken

against an oil operator by the DPR to enforce environmental protection

were rescinded by the Minister.Any attempt by the DPR to carry out its

important public interest functions, especially in the area of environmental

protection are likely to be thwarted by the MP if the Minister disagrees

with any decisions made by the DPR. These problems of the DPR also

affect environmental protection in the industry and this has been

compounded by a struggle for supremacy arising between the DPR and the

Ministry of Environment over the control of the environmental regulation

of the oil industry.

9. Insufficient Funding of Regulatory Agencies

For regulatory bodies to function effectively, they need to have state of the

art equipments and well trained personnel. These can only be achieved

through the provision of adequate funding. It is a well known fact that

environmental regulatory agencies in Nigeria generally lack such adequate

funding and technical expertise. The sources of hazard and pollution that

require more sophisticated measurement, sometimes involving long-term

projections, are often beyond the control of government regulators who

have crude and out dated equipments.

The budget of the DPR is dependent on the allocation from the Ministry of

Petroleum. Due to the limited financial resources at the disposal of these

agencies, they are unable to recruit sufficient numbers of trained and

experienced personnel to carry out their functions of implementing,

managing and administering the environmental regulation program. This

results in a pathetic situation where the officials of the regulatory agencies

have had to depend on oil companies to take them to the sites of oil spills in

order to carry out their duties. As a result, it is hardly surprising that the

subsequent reports are inadequate, incomprehensive and in most situations

rarely enforce correctional measures on the erring oil companies.

10. Lack of full access to Information

Due to the relatively low degree of technological advancement and the

importance attached to information in most developing countries,

especially in environmental matters, adequate and reliable data on sources,

amounts, types, control and preventive measures taken in environmental

protection are not usually available. Any information in possession of

government agencies and oil companies is not accessible, as such

documents or information are regarded as classified. In some cases, it is

virtually impossible to get access to any timely information. The situation

is made worse by the absence of any legislation which guarantees freedom

of information.

Other problems include:

i.Half hearted making of half-baked decrees, acts and pronouncements by

the government. A case in point is the directive by the Federal

Government instructing all oil companies to end gas by 2010. We are now

in 2012 but the oil companies in the Niger Delta are still flaring gas.

ii. Disincentives to actively commit the stakeholders into actively

protecting the environment.

iii. Indifference on the part of industry operator. Some industry operators

probably know and wish to do the right thing. However, seeing that there is

neither recognition nor penalty for doing the right or wrong thing,

respectively, pushes the few good ones into doing the wrong thing. Since

profitability is the end goal of every entrepreneur, what would be their

incentive to spending more on waste treatment when no one is there to

blow the whistle?

iv. Prevalent poverty and illiteracy among the citizenry who ought to see

their environment as part of the habitat upon which the human race

depends for survival.

v. Selfishness among industry operators who think more of their

profitability than the health of others who depend on the same surface

water for domestic purposes.

THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE PROBLEMS

The Federal Government of Nigeria solved the problem of multiplicity of

roles by creating the Federal Ministry of Environment. It further directed

the transfer of various units and departments hitherto engaged in

environmental management to the Ministry of Environment. The

government has also repealed the decree establishing several agencies to

put an end to the overlap in functions. For instance, the decree establishing

Natural Resource Conservation Council (NARESCON) was repealed and

its functions were merged with FEPA to remove the overlap in functions as

to who should be responsible for wildlife conservation.

In 2010, a bill known as the Petroleum Industry Bill was brought before the

floor of the Nigerian Senate (the upper house of the Nigerian Assembly).

The bill, when passed, will put an end to the continued devastation of the

environment in the process of exploring and exploiting crude oil.

Environmental protection laws in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry would

also be at par with that obtained in developed nations like the United

States. With the passage of the bill into law, there would be no legal

loophole for the oil companies to exploit in sustaining their assault on the

environment. The government has also passed the Freedom of Information

(FOI) bill into law, in 2011, to guarantee unrestricted access to information

in Nigeria. With the new law, data on sources, amounts, types, control and

preventive measures taken in environmental protection will be available to

every Nigerian.

The Federal Government also recently increased the penalty for gas flaring

from N10 to $3.50 per 1000 standard cubic feet of gas flared.

To checkmate corruption in the public sector, the government instituted the

Code of Conduct Bureau, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC). With

these three agencies, it is believed that corruption will be fought to a

standstill.

The Federal Government has also made investments in several waste to

wealth schemes like the Escravos Gas to Liquid Project. With the Escravos

Gas to Liquid (EGTL) Project, associated gas that would have been flared

is now converted to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It also recently

announced an intention to partner with Titan Projects Ltd to set up five

waste treatment plants in Nigeria.

5. ADVOCACY

5.1 Constitutional Reforms

To solve the problem of undue controversies between the three tiers of

government, an amendment to the contentious item 1(b) to the 4 th schedule

of the 1999 constitution is advocated so that local government councils

hands off from environmental management. The reason is that

environmental management entails experts from various related disciplines

which the local government with their lean resources cannot recruit and

remunerate adequately

The Law Reform Commission and Federal Ministry of Justice in

conjunction with the States, environmental NGOs and interested groups

and companies should develop an integrated, co-ordinated and

comprehensive legislation on the environment, removing rivalries,

bureaucratic bottlenecks and areas of overlapping, duplication and

confusion.

The office of the Minister of Environment should be kept away from

politicians. It should not be seen as a way to compensate political allies.

The Minister of Environment must be an industry expert with sound

background in environmental protection and management. Emphasis is

placed on an industry expert as he will be able to block all the loopholes

which industries exploit to pollute the environment.

5.2 Speedy Passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill

The passage of the petroleum industry bill will bring sanity to the

petroleum industry in the area of environmental protection. Oil companies

in Nigeria willl be compelled to abide by world environmental standards as

they carry out their business.. Also, the Nigerian government should also

impress upon oil companies to become very responsive when spills occur

to restore the pipes.

5.3 Liberalization of Environmental Protection

Environmental protection should be liberalized by the courts to enable

private individual participation in the enforcement of environmental

protection legislation. Hortatory provisions should be expunged from

Nigerian environmental legislation and operators should be made

accountable for any pollution caused by their operations. Apart from clean

up operations, they should pay adequate compensation to all those affected

by their operations. As a first remedial measure, a purely penal approach

should be adopted to control environmental degradation presently

experienced in the Nigerian environment caused by oil operators. A case in

point is the BP oil spill in which the American government mandated the

polluter, British Petroteum, to clean up the entire spill.BP was also made to

pay a very huge compensation for all the damage it caused. Should Nigeria

toe the same line, industries would pay more attention to issues bordering

on environmental protection.

Privative clauses in the existing legislation should be removed to expose

the regulators discretionary decisions to judicial accountability through

judicial review. Judges should extend judicial activism and review

traditional common law principles on access to courts in favour of citizens

and environmental groups in environmental matters.

Just as there is a Court Of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to handle all sports-

related issues, an environmental court may also be set up to handle all

issues pertaining to environmental protection and management. With the

establishment of an environmental court, the issue of locus standi and other

legal bottlenecks that have frustrated the prosecution of environmental law

offenders would become irrelevant.

5.4 Cooperation between the Government and the Locals

Cooperation among the government, operators and the inhabitants can

reduce or prevent the problems of sabotage of oil producing communities.

The government should be willing to share a reasonable percentage of oil

revenue with the people in oil producing areas. This may take the form of

essential social services, such as potable water, electricity, schools and

hospitals. The oil operators should also employ skilled and unskilled

workers from these areas and make prompt payment of compensation to

affected people. Oil companies should provide the public, especially in oil

producing areas with proper training materials, seminars/workshops, public

enlightenment programs and other expert services for abating and

controlling oil spills and other environmental problems associated with the

industry

5.5 New Approach to Funding

The petroleum industry,which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, is

the biggest polluter of the Nigerian environment. It is hereby advocated

that a certain percentage( say 0.05%) of any revenue accruable to the

country from any revenue in the oil and gas industry should be dedicated to

environmental protection.

6. CONCLUSION.

The era of environmental dormancy is over. All over the globe,

governments and various bodies have generated a greater awareness as to

the need to protect the environment. The Nigerian government, like other

governments, has put strict legislation in place to deal with the

environmental pollution problem.

This study has attempted to discuss the existing state of environmental

regulation in Nigeria. As the findings have shown, the government and the

industry in Nigeria are more concerned about revenue and profits from oil

than addressing the problems caused by exploration and production on the

environment. Existing legislation in Nigeria calls for a serious review to

resolve the present conflicts and supremacy struggle between regulatory

agencies and the ambiguities of the statutory provisions. The constraints

mitigating against effective environmental regulation further compound

environmental protection objectives in Nigeria.

Establishing an effective enforcement programme in Nigeria requires a

firm commitment on the part of government and a stable and vibrant

leadership in the environmental enforcement agencies. The mandate for

enforcement must be clear and the roles of line agencies distinct to avoid

inter-agency conflicts that could be capitalized upon by powerful target

groups to frustrate enforcement programmes.

To be relevant, the regulators (administrators) should be better supported

and, for effective compliance monitoring and enforcement, stiffer sanctions

and penalties should be prescribed and strictly adhered to. This way,

environmental requirements will be met and maintained. Staff should be

highly motivated with adequate equipment and capacity building programs

vigorously pursued. The administrators should invest more in capacity

building, staff motivation and provision of conducive work environments

together with the necessary facilities. The government in this regard should

make funds available to the environmental regulators. Otherwise, they

become exposed to monetary inducements leaving compliance in the hands

of the proponent. It is advocated that a certain percentage of the revenue

from crude oil should be ploughed back into environmental management.

It is recommended that Nigeria should make efforts to tow the lines of the

West, especially the USA in environmental concerns, and it is hoped that

all these efforts will lead to a better place for mankind and other life forms

in the environment

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