Legal: The Principle of Locus Standi In Nigeria.

The Concept of Locus Standi as a Barrier to Environmental Justice in Nigeria.

Environmental injustice is a prevalent and recurring issue in Nigeria, as people exposed to environmental pollutants and hazards are faced with severe health problems. This has led to environmental litigants speaking up so as to protect their rights to environmental justice. Environmental justice and litigation in Nigeria has in time, been affiliated with the perturbing aspect of the concept of Locus Standi in Nigeria, which is the draconian interpretation of it by the courts. This paper seeks to discuss the concepts of environmental justice in Nigeria , Locus standi, the relationship between both concepts; most importantly, it seeks to evaluate how Locus Standi has proven to be an obstacle in attaining environmental justice in Nigeria and then, the possible solutions to this issue.

INTRODUCTION

Locus standi means “standing to sue”. It is a common law principle which is now a part of our legal system in Nigeria. The main objective behind the creation of the term ‘Locus Standi’ was to give protection to courts from meddlers who have no substantial interest in the issue brought before the court.

Section 6(6)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) states that “The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section: shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person”.

Environmental Justice is the just treatment and inclusion of people in the implementation of environmental laws and regulations regardless of race, gender inter alia. It came up in the United States of America in the 1980’s for the purpose of granting relief to those who seek redress in courts for violations on their environmental rights.

Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) states that “The state shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria”. The right to a healthy environment is a non justiciable right and it can therefore not be enforced in Nigerian courts according to Section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which states “shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution”.

The National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act 2007 (NESREAA) is the main body responsible for the enforcement of environmental laws, rules, regulations, treaties and conventions Nigeria is a signatory to.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCUS STANDI AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The relationship between these two concepts brings about this particular question, “ Can a person or group of individuals bring an action on environmental injustice before the court for adjudication?”

The issue of Locus Standi as regards environmental injustice comes up when a person's right to environmental justice has been violated and infringed upon and the injured person(s) wishes to bring an action against those who violated their environmental rights.

A perfect illustration for this will be an issue of oil spillage as a result of oil exploration. Oil spillage negatively affects the livelihood of people as it contaminates their land, water inter alia. The aggrieved people are then faced with the issue of whether they have the legal standing to bring an action against the other party or not . This shows the relationship between Locus Standi and Environmental Justice.

HOW LOCUS STANDI HAS PROVEN TO BE AN OBSTACLE IN ATTAINING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN NIGERIA.

Locus Standi remains one substantial hindrance to the attainment of environmental justice in Nigeria. Why is this so?

The reason is not far-fetched. The Nigerian Courts have applied the doctrine of Locus Standi to private litigation on environmental cases in order to prohibit some categories of people from instituting an action. The reason for the application of locus standi to these cases can be traced to the economic interest of the government in oil and gas activities and the large revenue they get from them.

In the case of Oronto Douglas v Shell Petroleum Development Country(SPDC), a private citizen who was the plaintiff brought an action against an oil company(defendant) seeking an order which will mandate the defendant to act in accordance with some particular provisions of the EIA act before moving on with a certain liquified natural gas project. The court held that the plaintiff had no legal standing to bring such a suit as there was no evidence of him suffering greater damages than the general public.

POSSIBLE COURSE OF ACTIONS

Since Nigeria has adopted the African Charter on Human and People’s Right which also borders on the protection of environmental rights, they can be applied in our domestic courts and people whose environmental rights have been violated can bring an action as seen in the prominent case of The Social and Economic Rights Action Center and the Center for Economic, and Social Rights v Federal Republic of Nigeria which talks about the Ogoni people of Niger Delta.

Also, The Frep Rules of 2009 states that an applicant for human rights litigation may include: a private individual, a person acting on behalf of another’s interest, a representative of a group of individuals, a person acting in the interest of the general public inter alia.

This paper proposes that the FREP rules have removed the main barrier to environmental justice which is, Locus Standi and environmental litigants can bring an action in Nigerian Courts and the African Court of Human and People’s Rights by relying on this provision and the African Charter.