Improving Access to Environmental Justice under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Roles of NGOs in Nigeria

Nigeria is a signatory to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (‘African Charter’). The African Charter was domesticated into Nigerian law via the instrumentality of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Enforcement and Ratification) Act 1983. The abundance of case law in Nigeria on the African Charter suggests that the domestication of the charter has broadened the domestic enforcement rights. Accordingly, the charter has both international and human rights ramifications for environmental justice in Nigeria. Despite the importance of the charter to human rights enforcement, environmental justice is still very much a pipe dream in Nigeria. The reasons for this conundrum include the weak regulatory regime in the oil and gas industry, the lack of political will by regulatory agencies to enforce oil and gas laws and regulations, the endemic corruption and judicial obstacles amongst others. This paper will focus on the various strategies used by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to improve access to environmental justice by stakeholders via the instrumentality of the African Charter. Furthermore, it will provide a critique of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria where environmental injustice or degradation arising mainly from the activities of the oil multinational corporations (oil MNCs) are localised. Notwithstanding the institutional barriers to environmental justice in Nigeria, NGOs have utilised the provisions of the African Charter to improve access to environmental justice for victims of the activities of the oil and gas multinational corporations (oil MNCs) operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.