Abstract:
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has been inundated with oil pollution since the beginning of oil exploitation in the 1960s. The pollution has led to environmental degradation, which has adversely affected the lives of the inhabitants and ruined the local economy of the region. This Article discusses the condition of the Niger Delta environment and its inhabitants from the perspective of intergenerational rights, equity, and justice. It analyzes the role of domestic and foreign legal norms—both statutory and case law—in the quest to balance economic development with environmental sustainability, equity, and justice in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.