CHAPTER
THREE
LEGAL
FRAMEWORK
3.0.0
Introduction
In this chapter, efforts will be directed toward the
legal framework and under the following headings;
§ The
History of Environmental regulations in Nigeria
§ NESREA
2007
§ Harmful
Waste (Special Criminal Provision) Act LFN 2004
§ Rules
of common law and equity on waste
§ International
Laws Regulating Harmful Waste
§ Basel
Convention on the control of Trans-Boundary Movement of hazardous waste and
other disposal 1989
§ Organization
of African unity (OAU) Convention 1991
§ Bamako
Convention on the Ban of import to Africa and the control of Trans-Boundary
Movement and Management of Hazardous Waste within Africa
§ The
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer 1985
§ National
Framework on Waste Management
§ 1999
Constitution (Section 20)
§ Federal
Environmental Protection Agency Act (FEPA) 1988
§ The
National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008
§ Petroleum
Act Cap.P10 LFN 2004
§ The
Environmental Impact Assessment Act 1992
§ Oil
in Navigable Water Act LFN 2004
§ Oil
Pipeline Act Cap07 LFN 2004
§ State
and Local statue
§ Lagos
State Environmental Pollution Control Edict 1991
§ Kano
State Environmental Protection and Planning Agency Edicts 1990
§ Anambra
State Environmental Sanitation Authority Edicts No15
§ Customary
law
3.1.0
The History of Environmental regulations in Nigeria
The development of Nigerian environmental
regulations can be divided into two:
1) The pre 1988 era
2) The post 1988 era
The Pre 1988 Era: During the colonial era, Nigeria was not
concerned about the protection of the environment; it was not a priority. Accordingly,
there was no policy aimed at preserving and protecting it. The tort of nuisance
was more prominent because disputes in environmental law were not viewed as
public matters warranting state intervention.
The few environmentally related
laws that were applicable criminalized activities that could degrade the
environment. One of the laws was the Criminal Code Act of 1916, which
prohibited water pollution and air pollution. In 1917, the Public Health Act
was enacted. Although, somewhat broad in scope, this Act did not contain
provisions of relevance to the regulation of land, air and water pollution. At
this time, matters relating to the environment were dealt with in a rudimentary
manner, from the view point of environmental sanitation.
Following Nigeria’s independence in 1960 and
the discovery of oil in commercial quantities, laws dealing with the
environment obviously became grossly inadequate. This was owing to the fact
that most of the provisions on environmental protection were scattered
throughout different laws, resulting in ad-hoc response to different needs in
different situations. During the decade following independence, the Government
criminalized polluting activities, particularly those relating to the discharge
of oil in navigable waters and environmental degradation as a result of
petroleum activities.
The 1970s saw the further development of the
Nigeria’s environmental regime in response to the individual growth associated
with the oil boom. River basin authorities64 were created and
environmental units were established in some government ministries. The laws
were, however, typically “knee-jerk” responses to emergency situations.
64. River Basin Development Authority Act, 1987.