• Civil society, Amnesty hail judgment
A JUDGMENT by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice has once again kept on the front burner the need to mitigate the ravages caused by oil firms in the Niger Delta and develop the region.
The ECOWAS court ruled at the weekend that the Federal Government should make the oil companies to account for pollution in the Niger Delta.
Civil society groups, Amnesty International and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), have hailed the judgment.
In a joint statement made available to The Guardian, the groups said the time had come for the Nigerian government to stand up to powerful oil firms that have abused the human rights of the people of the Niger Delta with impunity for decades.
In a suit SERAP v. Nigeria, filed by SERAP counsel, Femi Falana SAN, Adetokunbo Mumuni and Sola Egbeyinka, it was alleged that the government and six oil companies were involved in violation of human rights and associated oil pollution in the Niger Delta.
The plaintiff alleged: "Violations of the right to an adequate standard of living, including the right to food, to work, to health, to water, to life and human dignity, to a clean and healthy environment; and to economic and social development – as a consequence of; the impact of oil-related pollution and environmental damage on agriculture and fisheries."
SERAP also alleged "oil spills and waste materials polluting water used for drinking and other domestic purposes; failure to secure the underlying determinants of health, including a healthy environment, and failure to enforce laws and regulations to protect the environment and prevent pollution."
In the judgment which was delivered by a panel of six judges, Justice Awa Nana Daboya, Justice Benefeito Mosso Ramos, Justice Hansine Donli, Justice Alfred Benin, Justice Clotilde Medegan and Justice Eliam Potey, at the weekend in Abuja, the court unanimously found the Nigerian government responsible for abuses by oil firms and made it clear that the government must hold the firms and other perpetrators to account.
The court also found that Nigeria violated Articles 21 (on the right to natural wealth and resources) and 24 (on the right to a general satisfactory environment) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights by failing to protect the Niger Delta and its people from the operations of oil companies that have for many years devastated the region.
According to the court, the right to food and social life of the people of Niger Delta was violated by destroying their environment, and thus destroying their opportunity to earn a living and enjoy a healthy and adequate standard of living. The court also said that both the government and the oil companies violated the human and cultural rights of the people in the region.
The court ruled that the government's failure to enact effective laws and set up effective institutions to regulate the activities of the firms coupled with its failure to bring perpetrators of pollution "to book" amounted to a breach of Nigeria's international human rights obligations and commitments.
The court stressed that "the quality of life of people is determined by the quality of the environment. But the government has failed in its duty to maintain a general satisfactory environment conducive to the development of the Niger Delta region."
The court had dismissed government's objections that SERAP had no locus standi to institute the case; that the ECOWAS court had no jurisdiction to entertain it; and that the case was statute-barred.
Both Falana and Mumuni said the judgment confirmed the persistent failure of the Nigerian government to punish properly and effectively oil firms that have caused pollution and perpetrated serious human rights abuses, and is an important step towards accountability for government and oil companies that continue to prioritise profit-making over and above the well-being of the people of the region.
On his part, the Director of Law and Policy at Amnesty International, Michael Bochenek, explained that this was a crucial precedent that affirmed the human right of the Nigerian people to live a life free from pollution. According to him, it also makes it clear that the government must hold the oil companies to account.
"The judgment makes it clear that the Nigerian government has failed to prevent the oil companies causing pollution. It is a major step forward in holding the government and oil companies accountable for years of devastation and deprivation," Bochenek said.
Article 15(4) of the ECOWAS Treaty makes the judgment of the court binding on member states, including Nigeria. Also, Article 19(2) of the 1991 Protocol provides that the decisions of the court shall be final and immediately enforceable. Furthermore, non-compliance with the judgment of the court can be sanctioned under Article 24 of the Supplementary Protocol of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and Article 77 of the ECOWAS Treaty.
