By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
FAILURE TO curb persistent gas flaring has become the subject of a legal battle at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice (CCJ), where the Federal Republic of Nigeria now faces a suit alleging violations of international human rights and environmental treaties.
The case, filed on 22 September 2025 under Suit No. ECW/CCJ/APP/48/25, was brought before the Court by Professor Enabulele, a Nigerian expert in public international law, and the Centre for Community Law (CfCL), a non-governmental organisation.
Both applicants accuse the government of failing to enforce its own statutory provisions and international commitments designed to protect communities and the environment.
In a statement dated 25 September 2025, CfCL said the action seeks 16 distinct reliefs, including an order compelling the state to enforce environmental protection laws against multinational oil companies and to establish effective compensation programmes for host communities affected by gas flaring.
The applicants also want restitution measures, such as rebuilding damaged infrastructure and restoring degraded ecosystems and biodiversity.
The filing argues that ongoing flaring contravenes Nigeria’s domestic Climate Change Act 2021 and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, alongside multiple international obligations.
Specific reference was made to Articles 4, 5, 14, 16 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
