LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE CONTROL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

The European Union Water Framework Directive, defines pollution as: "... the direct or indirect introduction, as a result of human activity, of substances or heat into the water or land which may be harmful to human health or the quality of aquatic ecosystems or terrestrial ecosystems directly depending on aquatic ecosystems, which result in damage to material property, or which impair or interfere with amenities and other legitimate uses of the environment." . The gradual but significant degradation of the Nigeria environment especially by oil pollution, solid waste etc which is a form of pollution has had great and devastating effects on both human and marine fauna. The project tries to portray how certain measures are been put in place by the government and certain legal institutions in charge of protecting the environment, their legal functions and duties and certain penalties on defaulters. However, despite certain presence of these government al institutions that protect the environment, people are still very lackadaisical about reporting any sign of environmental degradation around them, may be because states or communities are ignorant of their rights due to lack of awareness or illiteracy or because they are too shy or too poor to bring actions or claims as a result of damages arising from pollution. Therefore, adequate measures via this project have been suggested to preserve the environment form dangerous pollution. In this work, environmental law, energy law and those not affecting pollution like the law of tort, incidental or concomitant upon another as well as substantive shall be discussed rigorously. This project deals with the legal and institutional framework for the control of environmental pollution in Nigeria. Pollution of the environment leads to the degradation of the environment which is a consequence of industrialization. The environment (air, water and land) remains nature’s greatest legacy to mankind.  Air, water and land constitute the basic necessities of human existence. In spite of nature’s generous provision of these necessities of life, the environment has been and is still being polluted by man through indiscriminate disposal of domestic, commercial, land industrial waste.  Environmental pollution leads to the degradation of the environment, which is a consequence of industrialization.  Mankind is now faced with the fact that the current rate of destruction might lead to a very bleak or even a non-existent future for the earth and its inhabitants.  The control and regulation of the use of the environment by all nations is therefore essential, because man’s life is tied to the environment. Governmental participation by all tiers is inevitable if measures designed to protect the environment is to be effective.  At this  juncture,  law has  a key role  to play regardless  of technological  or  scientific  design  or devices.  The main  objective  of preservation,  conservation  and  maintenance  of  purify  environment  can  only  be achieved only if the law can be mobilized to operate in partnership with science and technology.