Expanding the Frontiers of Environmental Rights under the 1999 Constitution

Abstract

Until the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended) 1999 (the Nigerian Constitution) was enacted, Nigeria’s constitutions during the pre-independence and post-independence era, had no constitutional protection for environmental rights. One of the lacunae the 1999 Nigerian Constitution sought to fill therefore was the absence of a constitutionally protected environmental right. Environmental rights proponents believed that with such welcome addition to Nigeria’s supreme law, the herculean task of enforcing the right to a safe, harmless environment would be made much easier. Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution provides for Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides for the environmental objectives. Environmental rights are not expressly provided for in Chapter IV of the constitution under Fundamental Rights. This paper will examine the scope of environmental rights under the constitution vis a vis recent developments across jurisdictions of the globe. The paper is a call for amendment of the relevant provisions of the 1999 constitution to expand the frontiers of environmental rights to the realm of fundamental rights.