Nigeria: Environmental Law

Gas flaring has been a source of pollution in the Niger Delta region for more than six decades, polluting the atmosphere the soil, and eroding the lives of communities living in one of the most oil-rich regions in Africa. The Nigerian government's efforts at solving this environmental problem have been characterized by delay and capture. The enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 20212 represents the most ambitious legislative attempt yet to bring routine flaring to an end, through an explicit statutory prohibition, mandatory monetisation planning, and a new institutional architecture anchored around the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

Nigeria's energy industry is at the intersection of massive economic aspirations and significant environmental threats. The Niger Delta has been subjected to decades of oil extraction, which have left it mired in some of the world's worst pollution crises, but the individual corporate directors have escaped liability for the devastation that their companies wreak on the environment.

Ghana and Nigeria are reshaping their natural resources sectors through new regulatory frameworks and fiscal terms. Ghana introduces methane monitoring standards and proposes mineral tenure reforms...

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (Establishment) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 proposes significant changes to Nigeria's regulatory framework for oil spill management and environmental compliance. What new enforcement powers will NOSDRA gain, and how will financial and criminal consequences for non-compliance by operators and facility owners be strengthened?

Environmental justice extends far beyond basic environmental protection, encompassing fairness, equality, and equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across all communities. Dr Udenna Chukwulobe of Olisa Agbakoba Legal examines widespread misconceptions about environmental justice in Nigeria, from its geographic scope to its relationship with economic development and constitutional rights.

The trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine in Nigeria's Niger Delta during the 1990s became a watershed moment in environmental justice, bringing global attention to the devastating ecological impact of oil extraction on local communities. Dr. Olisa Agbakoba's role as defense counsel in this landmark case transformed his legal practice...

The current gas projects now face strict carbon regulations which make their operations more complex than their original hydrocarbon work.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has issued new Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations 2026, fundamentally reshaping Nigeria's upstream petroleum decommissioning framework.

Decarbonisation is no longer a distant climate ambition. It is now shaping legal frameworks, regulatory expectations, and investment decisions across energy-producing jurisdictions.