The Niger Delta, one of the world’s most biodiverse wetlands, sustains millions of people, yet suffers from decades of oil exploitation, recurrent spills, and persistent gas flaring. These activities have severely damaged ecosystems, threatened livelihoods, and obscured the ability of creation to reflect divine glory. While biblical environmental ethics have drawn extensively from Genesis, Leviticus, and prophetic texts, the Deuterocanonical Wisdom literature (particularly Wisdom of Solomon 13:1–9) remains an underexplored theological resource. This study addresses this gap by examining the text’s vision of creation as divine revelation and its ethical implications for ecological justice in the Niger Delta. The study employs a biblical-theological analysis and contextual hermeneutics, integrating close exegetical reading of Wisdom of Solomon 13:1–9 with environmental science, Nigerian socio-political studies, and eco-theology. The scope of this study is limited to oil-related degradation in the Niger Delta, viewed through the lens of deuterocanonical wisdom. Findings reveal that the text offers a compelling theological critique of environmental exploitation, framing ecological destruction as a failure to recognize and honor the Creator. This theological insight strengthens the moral basis for environmental repentance, responsible stewardship, and policy advocacy. The study concludes that integrating Solomon’s wisdom into Nigerian eco-theology can enrich faith-based environmental engagement. Recommendations include incorporating deuterocanonical wisdom into church environmental teaching, fostering partnerships between faith groups and ecological non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and advocating for policies that prioritize ecological restoration and sustainable resource management.
Kolade et al. (Tue,) studied this question.