LINGERING OIL POLLUTION IN THE NIGER DELTA: A CASE FOR ENFORCING ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS AND POLICIES

Abstract

It is an axiomatic fact the nature of oil pollution crisis devastating the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. For the past seven decades, oil exploration activities have disproportionately affected this region through environmental degradation, contamination of drinking water, destruction and extinction of wildlife habitat, creeks, farmlands, other property and means of livelihood of the inhabitants, depletion of forests and severe chronic health hazards for residents of the region. This poses existential threats to both the present and future generations within the region, and obviously, inconsistent with the global pursuit of sustainable development goals and intergenerational equity. The residents are persistently seeking justice but it is far-fetched. The authors therefore argued the efficacy of the relevant legal framework in protecting the rights of these victims and the succeeding generations. Consequently, the authors maintained that the catastrophic impacts of the pollution in this area and the failure of the government and the legal frameworks to accord them the protection they deserve leave much to be desired. The paper concluded by recommending strict enforcement of the relevant local and international legal frameworks to safeguard not only the lives of the residents of the region but also their ancestral lands and future generations.