HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN NIGERIA

Environmental problem in Nigeria has been a big issue since the advent of oil exploration. With a population of over 180 million people in Nigeria, it’s obviously that the Environmental laws are in critical need. Most people always take Environmental issue lightly as there are little or no Environmental education by the administrator to Nigerian citizens.

The Nigeria Environmental law is constituted over some year ago, the implementation of law stated when law makers implement it and sing it into law in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Pursuant to section 20 of the Constitution, the State is empowered to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air, land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria. In addition to this, section 2 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1992 (EIA Act) provides that the public or private sector of the economy shall not undertake or embark on or authorize projects or activities without prior consideration of the effect on the environment.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has promulgated various laws and Regulations to safeguard the Nigerian environment. These include:

• Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act of 1988 (FEPA Act). The following Regulations were made pursuant to the FEPA Act:
  • National Environmental Protection (Effluent Limitation) Regulations:
    • National Environmental Protection (Pollution Abatement in Industries and Facilities Generating Wastes) Regulations; and
    • National Environmental Protection (Management of Solid and Hazardous Wastes) Regulations.

• Environmental Impact Assessment Act of 1992 (EIA Act).
• Harmful Wastes (Special Criminal Provisions etc.) Act of 1988 (Harmful Wastes Act).

The Federal Ministry of Environment (FME) administers and enforces environmental laws in Nigeria. It took over this function in 1999 from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), which was created under the FEPA Act. FEPA was absorbed and its functions taken over by the FME in 1999.

The Federal Ministry of Environment has published several guidelines for the administration of the FEPA and EIA Acts and procedures for evaluating environmental impact assessment reports (EIA Reports).

Other regulatory agencies with oversight over specific industries have also issued guidelines to regulate the impact of such industries on the environment such as the Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN) 2002, published by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

However, pursuant to the FEPA Act, each State and local government in the country may set up its own environmental protection body for the protection and improvement of the environment within the State. Each State is also empowered to make laws to protect the environment within its jurisdiction. All the States have environmental agencies and State laws; e.g. Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory has issued the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (Solid Waste Control/Environmental Monitoring) Regulations 2005 (“the Abuja Environmental Protection

The EIA Act was promulgated principally to enable the prior consideration of environmental impact assessment of public or private projects. Any person planning a project/activity which may have an impact on the environment is statutorily required to prepare an EIA Report, and the Report must set out the potential impact of the activity on the environment and plans for preventing/mitigating the same, as well as clean up plans. All such Reports must be approved by the FME. Attached to the EIA Act is a schedule of activities and industries for which environmental impact assessments are mandatory. These include Agriculture, Airport, Drainage and Irrigation, Land Reclamation, Fisheries, Forestry, Housing, Industry, Infrastructure, Ports, Mining, Petroleum, Power Generation and Transmission, Quarries, Railways, Transportation, Resort and Recreational Development, Waste Treatment and Disposal, and Water Supply.

Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of the EIA Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction, in the case of an individual, to a fine or to a term of imprisonment for up to five years; and fines are also imposed on guilty firms or corporations.

Furthermore, the FEPA Act empowers the FME to require the production for examination of any license or permit granted to any person, to enter and search any land or building, and to arrest any person whom they have reason to believe has violated any environmental regulation.

The approach of regulatory agencies is the prevention of environmental damages, the regulation of potentially harmful activities and the punishment of willful harmful damage whenever this occurs. The environmental agencies also adopt the approach of engaging individuals and communities at risk of potential environmental damage in dialogue. The EIA approval process adopted by the FME involves a system of public hearings during the EIA evaluation process and interested members of the public are invited to such hearings

Public authorities are statutorily required to inform the public of environment-related issues. The FEPA Act requires FEPA to collect and make available through publications and other appropriate means and in cooperation with public or private organisations, information pertaining to pollution and environmental protection regulations.

The FME also issues guidelines from time to time for environmental impact assessments for different industries and it also has publications which inform the public of the prohibition of environmental pollution. Furthermore, members of the public and persons requiring clarifications on environmental issues can visit the offices of the FME or the relevant State environmental agency for environment-related information.

As stated in question 1.2 above public hearings to which interested members of the public are invited is a key part of the approval process for EIA reports by the relevant agencies.

The different pieces of legislation on the protection of the environment contain provisions for the issuance of environmental permits. Such permits are required for all potentially environmentally sensitive activities and are typically granted by the FME and the relevant State agencies. Specific legislation on permits include the Radioactive Waste Management Regulations 2006 which provides that any person generating or managing radioactive waste must apply for and obtain a permit from the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority; the FEPA Act and the regulations made there under.

The National Environment Protection (Pollution Abatement in Industries and Facilities Generating Wastes) Regulations made pursuant to the FEPA Act provide that a permit will be required:

• for storage, treatment and transportation of harmful toxic waste within Nigeria;
• where effluents with constituents beyond permissible limits will be discharged into public drains, rivers, lakes, sea, or as an underground injection;
• when oil in any form shall be discharged into public drains, rivers, lakes, sea, or as an underground injection; and
• for an industry or a facility with a new point source of pollution or a new process line with a new point source. Such an industry or facility shall apply to the agency for a discharge permit.

Some permits are industry specific; e.g. in the oil and gas industry, the Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) also regulates environment issues, and operators in the industry are required to obtain the necessary permits.

The Environmental Guidelines and Standards for the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria (EGASPIN) 2002, published by the DPR provides that the Director of Petroleum Resources shall issue permits for all aspects of oil-related effluent discharges from point sources (gaseous, liquid and solid), and oil-related project development.

ABDUL