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"headline": "A Critical Assessment of Nigeria\u2019s Legal and Institutional Framework for Ocean and Coastal Governance",
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"description": "This scholarly assessment examines Nigeria's fragmented legal framework for ocean and coastal governance. It evaluates constitutional jurisdictional disputes, r...",
"abstract": "Nigeria possessed extensive maritime endowments, including an 850-kilometre coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone of over 200 nautical miles, holding an untapped blue economy potential estimated at 296 billion USD. However, the sustainable exploitation of these marine and coastal resources was severely hindered by a fragmented, multicephalous, and reactive legal and institutional framework. This article critically examined the jurisprudential architecture underpinning Nigeria\u2019s ocean and coastal governance, identifying core structural vulnerabilities, including intense federal-state jurisdictional conflicts over navigable waters and coastal land-use, overlapping statutory mandates among regulatory agencies, administrative enforcement crises over environmental compliance, and barriers to liability in transnational environmental litigation. Through a doctrinal analysis of constitutional provisions, primary legislation, and recent landmark judicial decisions, this article exposed how the balkanised regulatory landscape frustrated effective marine conservation and sustainable maritime trade. This study incorporated comparative legal perspectives from developed and developing ocean states, namely Norway, Singapore, Brazil, and South Africa, to extract strategic policy lessons for Nigeria. It revealed how centralised ocean governance, environmental criminalisation, mandatory civil liability insurance, and comprehensive domestication of multilateral environmental agreements could resolve domestic regulatory blockages. Ultimately, the article argued for a paradigm shift from sectoral balkanisation to a centralised, integrated ocean management model, operationalised through Marine Spatial Planning and the establishment of a unified National Ocean Governance Commission under the newly created Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.",
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"text": "[1] Ibrahim Badamasi Adamu, Strengthening maritime administration via blue economy in Nigeria (World Maritime University MSc Dissertation, 2025) 2."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[2] ibid, 2. 3"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "ibid, 2; see also Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1978 (Cap E17, LFN 2004)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[3] Adamu (n 1) 7."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[4] ibid, 2. 6"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "CEHRD, review of environmental legislations in nigeria (CEHRD Report, 2021) 40."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[5] Macaulay Akpan, ‘Legal Framework for Sustainable Conservation of Fishery Resources in the Marine Environment of Nigeria’ (2025) 13(1) Brawijaya Law Journal 51, 53."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[6] Adamu (n 1) 18."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[7] ibid, 18. 10"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "S.C. Dike and Nheoma Eme Worugji, ‘Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, NIMASA, and the Blue Agenda’ (2025) 13(1) Rivers State University Journal of Public Law 251, 253."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[8] ibid, 253."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[9] Adamu (n 1) 2."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[10] CEHRD (n 4) 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[11] ibid, 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[12] ibid, 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[13] CEHRD (n 4) 21."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[14] Akpan (n 5) 53."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[15] CEHRD (n 4) 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[16] CEHRD (n 4) 40."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[17] Adamu (n 1) 24."
},
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"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[18] ibid, 24."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[19] ibid, 24. 23 Collins Iwuorie, ‘Domestication and Status of Treaties in Nigeria: A Critique of Section 12 of the Constitution’ (2025) 2(2) Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of Public Law 60, 61."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[20] Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), s 12(1)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[21] Iwuorie (n 17) 63."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[22] Adamu (n 1) 19."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[23] Gbemisola Olumuyiwa Fatokun,An analysis of Nigeria’s domestic application of the Convention on Biological Diversity (University of KwaZulu-Natal LLM Thesis, 2014) 2."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[24] ibid, 2. 29"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[2000] 6 NWLR (Pt 660) 288."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[25] ibid, 292; see also Constitution (n 19), s 1(3)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[26] Abacha (n 22) 292."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[27] (2008) 2 NWLR (Pt 1075) 575."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[28] Iwuorie (n 17) 63."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[29] Constitution (n 19), s 12(3)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[30] Iwuorie (n 17) 62."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[31] Constitution (n 19), s 20."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[32] Constitution (n 19), s 6(6)(c)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[33] CEHRD (n 4) 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[34] ibid, 22. 40"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[2005] AHRLR 151."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[35] ibid, 153. 42"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "ibid, 154; see also African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1983 (Cap A9, LFN 2004)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[36] Gbemre (n 28) 154."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[37] ibid, 154."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[38] CEHRD (n 4) 22."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[39] CEHRD (n 4) 18."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[40] Constitution (n 19), Exclusive Legislative List, Item 36."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[41] Cap N47, LFN 2004."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[42] ibid, ss 8, 9."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[43] Sunday Maji, ‘Niwa v Laswa: Reflections on the Supreme Court’s Judgement in National Inland Waterways Authority’ (2024) 15(1) DOA Law Journal 35, 36."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[44] Appeal No SC.17/2018; [2024] LPELR-61200(SC)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[45] Maji (n 34) 37."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[46] ibid, 38."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[47] ibid, 38. 55"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "NIWA v LASWA (n 35) paras 42-45."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[48] ibid, para 46. 57"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "Olajide Ajana, ‘The Supreme Court’s NIWA Ruling and the Validity of Waterfront Land Titles in Lagos’ (2024) 4 The Guardian Nigeria 12."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[49] ibid, 12."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[50] ibid, 12. 60"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "Suit No SC/CV/541/2025; [2026] LPELR-62800(SC)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[51] ibid, paras 10-15."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[52] ibid, paras 30-34."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[53] ibid, para 35."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[54] Constitution (n 19), s 315(5); see also Land Use Act 1978 (Cap L5, LFN 2004)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[55] Lagos State v FG (n 40) para 36."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[56] ibid, para 37."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[57] ibid, para 38."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[58] ibid, para 39."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[59] Adamu (n 1) 25."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[60] Act No 17 of 2007."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[61] ibid, s 22. 72"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "unreported, Appeal No SC/CV/102/2021, Supreme Court of Nigeria, 16 January 2026."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[62] Cap N87, LFN 2004."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[63] ibid, Schedule 2."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[64] NIMASA Act (n 45), s 15."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[65] NIMASA v NLNG (n 47) paras 20-25."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[66] ibid, para 26."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[67] ibid, para 27."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[68] Act No 5 of 2003."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[69] unreported, Appeal No SC/CV/341/2022, Supreme Court of Nigeria, 12 December 2025."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[70] unreported, Suit No FHC/UY/CS/1623/2016, Federal High Court, Lagos Division, 27 July 2019."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[71] ibid, para 15."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[72] Noble Drilling (n 52) paras 18-22; see also Cabotage Act (n 51), s 2(d)."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[73] Noble Drilling (n 52) para 23."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[74] ibid, para 24."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[75] Act No 6 of 2021."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[76] unreported, Suit No FHC/PH/CS/102/2024, Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division, 13 January 2026."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[77] S.I. No 79 of 2023."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[78] ibid, paras 22-26."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[79] CEHRD (n 4) 28."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[80] Act No 25 of 2007."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[81] ibid, s 7. 93"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "NESREA Act (n 59), ss 7, 8; see also S R Monsurat, R M Olalekan and S H Olawale, ‘A Deep Dive into the"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "Review of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act’ (2025) 2(2)"
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[82] ibid, 495."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[83] CEHRD (n 4) 28."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[84] PIA 2021 (n 55), s 6."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[85] Act No 15 of 2006."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[86] ibid, s 5."
},
{
"@type": "CreativeWork",
"text": "[87] CEHRD (n 4) 29."
}
],
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"name": "References",
"text": "
\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n[1] Ibrahim Badamasi Adamu, Strengthening maritime administration via blue economy in Nigeria (World Maritime University MSc Dissertation, 2025) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[2] ibid, 2. 3
\r\nibid, 2; see also Exclusive Economic Zone Act 1978 (Cap E17, LFN 2004).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[3] Adamu (n 1) 7.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[4] ibid, 2. 6
\r\nCEHRD, review of environmental legislations in nigeria (CEHRD Report, 2021) 40.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[5] Macaulay Akpan, ‘Legal Framework for Sustainable Conservation of Fishery Resources in the Marine Environment of Nigeria’ (2025) 13(1) Brawijaya Law Journal 51, 53.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[6] Adamu (n 1) 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[7] ibid, 18. 10
\r\nS.C. Dike and Nheoma Eme Worugji, ‘Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, NIMASA, and the Blue Agenda’ (2025) 13(1) Rivers State University Journal of Public Law 251, 253.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[8] ibid, 253.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[9] Adamu (n 1) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[10] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[11] ibid, 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[12] ibid, 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[13] CEHRD (n 4) 21.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[14] Akpan (n 5) 53.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[15] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[16] CEHRD (n 4) 40.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[17] Adamu (n 1) 24.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[18] ibid, 24.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[19] ibid, 24. 23 Collins Iwuorie, ‘Domestication and Status of Treaties in Nigeria: A Critique of Section 12 of the Constitution’ (2025) 2(2) Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of Public Law 60, 61.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[20] Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), s 12(1).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[21] Iwuorie (n 17) 63.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[22] Adamu (n 1) 19.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[23] Gbemisola Olumuyiwa Fatokun,An analysis of Nigeria’s domestic application of the Convention on Biological Diversity (University of KwaZulu-Natal LLM Thesis, 2014) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[24] ibid, 2. 29
\r\n[2000] 6 NWLR (Pt 660) 288.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[25] ibid, 292; see also Constitution (n 19), s 1(3).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[26] Abacha (n 22) 292.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[27] (2008) 2 NWLR (Pt 1075) 575.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[28] Iwuorie (n 17) 63.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[29] Constitution (n 19), s 12(3).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[30] Iwuorie (n 17) 62.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[31] Constitution (n 19), s 20.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[32] Constitution (n 19), s 6(6)(c).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[33] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[34] ibid, 22. 40
\r\n[2005] AHRLR 151.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[35] ibid, 153. 42
\r\nibid, 154; see also African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1983 (Cap A9, LFN 2004).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[36] Gbemre (n 28) 154.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[37] ibid, 154.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[38] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[39] CEHRD (n 4) 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[40] Constitution (n 19), Exclusive Legislative List, Item 36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[41] Cap N47, LFN 2004.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[42] ibid, ss 8, 9.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[43] Sunday Maji, ‘Niwa v Laswa: Reflections on the Supreme Court’s Judgement in National Inland Waterways Authority’ (2024) 15(1) DOA Law Journal 35, 36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[44] Appeal No SC.17/2018; [2024] LPELR-61200(SC).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[45] Maji (n 34) 37.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[46] ibid, 38.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[47] ibid, 38. 55
\r\nNIWA v LASWA (n 35) paras 42-45.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[48] ibid, para 46. 57
\r\nOlajide Ajana, ‘The Supreme Court’s NIWA Ruling and the Validity of Waterfront Land Titles in Lagos’ (2024) 4 The Guardian Nigeria 12.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[49] ibid, 12.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[50] ibid, 12. 60
\r\nSuit No SC/CV/541/2025; [2026] LPELR-62800(SC).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[51] ibid, paras 10-15.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[52] ibid, paras 30-34.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[53] ibid, para 35.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[54] Constitution (n 19), s 315(5); see also Land Use Act 1978 (Cap L5, LFN 2004).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[55] Lagos State v FG (n 40) para 36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[56] ibid, para 37.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[57] ibid, para 38.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[58] ibid, para 39.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[59] Adamu (n 1) 25.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[60] Act No 17 of 2007.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[61] ibid, s 22. 72
\r\nunreported, Appeal No SC/CV/102/2021, Supreme Court of Nigeria, 16 January 2026.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[62] Cap N87, LFN 2004.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[63] ibid, Schedule 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[64] NIMASA Act (n 45), s 15.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[65] NIMASA v NLNG (n 47) paras 20-25.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[66] ibid, para 26.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[67] ibid, para 27.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[68] Act No 5 of 2003.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[69] unreported, Appeal No SC/CV/341/2022, Supreme Court of Nigeria, 12 December 2025.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[70] unreported, Suit No FHC/UY/CS/1623/2016, Federal High Court, Lagos Division, 27 July 2019.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[71] ibid, para 15.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[72] Noble Drilling (n 52) paras 18-22; see also Cabotage Act (n 51), s 2(d).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[73] Noble Drilling (n 52) para 23.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[74] ibid, para 24.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[75] Act No 6 of 2021.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[76] unreported, Suit No FHC/PH/CS/102/2024, Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division, 13 January 2026.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[77] S.I. No 79 of 2023.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[78] ibid, paras 22-26.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[79] CEHRD (n 4) 28.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[80] Act No 25 of 2007.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[81] ibid, s 7. 93
\r\nNESREA Act (n 59), ss 7, 8; see also S R Monsurat, R M Olalekan and S H Olawale, ‘A Deep Dive into the
\r\nReview of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act’ (2025) 2(2)
\r\n\r\n\r\n[82] ibid, 495.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[83] CEHRD (n 4) 28.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[84] PIA 2021 (n 55), s 6.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[85] Act No 15 of 2006.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[86] ibid, s 5.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[87] CEHRD (n 4) 29.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[88] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[89] unreported, Appeal No CA/C/162/2017, Court of Appeal, Calabar Division, 19 April 2018.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[90] ibid, para 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[91] ibid, para 23.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[92] ibid, para 24. 105
\r\nunreported, Suit No FHC/L/CS/573/1996, Federal High Court, Lagos Division, 24 May 2018.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[93] ibid, paras 20-22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[94] ibid, para 26.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[95] CEHRD (n 4) 23.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[96] unreported, Suit No FHC/AK/CS/102/2022, Federal High Court, Akure Division, 4 October 2024.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[97] ibid, para 24.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[98] ibid, para 24.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[99] CEHRD (n 4) 23.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[100] [2021] UKSC 3.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[101] ibid, para 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[102] ibid, para 23; see also Lungowe v Vedanta Resources Plc [2019] UKSC 20.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[103] scheduled for trial in 2027; see Leigh Day, ‘High Court finds Shell can be held responsible for legacy pollution’ (Leigh Day Press Release, 20 June 2025).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[104] Leigh Day (n 70) para 13.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[105] ibid, para 15.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[106] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[107] (1995) CLR 4(C) (CA).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[108] ibid, 207.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[109] ibid, 207.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[110] ibid, 208.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[111] [2023] UKSC 16.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[112] ibid, paras 10-15.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[113] ibid, para 30.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[114] ibid, paras 34-36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[115] ibid, para 37.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[116] ibid, para 37.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[117] ibid, para 37.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[118] ibid, para 36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[119] Federal High Court Dismisses $ 3 Billion Claim Against SPDC (Olaniwun Ajayi Client Alert, July 2026) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[120] Leigh Day (n 70) para 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[121] see Oil Pipelines Act 1956 (Cap O7, LFN 2004), s 11(5).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[122] Leigh Day (n 70) para 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[123] Matrix Chambers, ‘Court of Appeal judgment in major group litigation’ (Matrix News, 10 December 2024).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[124] Fountain Court Chambers, ‘Court of Appeal rejects use of global claims approach in Shell Oil spill case’ (Fountain Court Latest, 12 December 2024).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[125] ibid.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[126] ibid.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[127] ibid.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[128] ibid.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[129] ibid.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[130] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[131] PIA 2021 (n 55), s 240; see also Goldsmiths Solicitors, ‘Host Communities and Funds under the PIA 2021’ (PIA Series IV, 2022) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[132] PIA 2021 (n 55), s 257(2).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[133] ibid, s 257(2); see also ‘Niger Delta group sues FG, national assembly over controversial PIA provision’ (Peoples Gazette, 3 November 2023).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[134] ibid. 148 Constitution (n 19), ss 43, 44.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[135] unreported, Suit No FHC/PH/CS/202/2023, Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[136] Peoples Gazette (n 75).
\r\n\r\n\r\n[137] Brookings, ‘Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act: Addressing old problems, creating new ones’ (Brookings Africa in Focus Report, 2021) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[138] CEHRD (n 4) 22.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[139] Hemen Philip Faga and Emeka Geoffrey Ede, ‘Assessing the Effectiveness of UNCLOS in Nigeria’s Maritime Resource Governance’ (2025) 8(1) Lex Portus 105, 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[140] ibid, 105; see also UNCLOS 1982, arts 192, 206.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[141] Faga and Ede (n 79) 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[142] Akpan (n 5) 51.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[143] Cap S4, LFN 2004.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[144] Akpan (n 5) 53.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[145] ibid, 53; see also Faga and Ede (n 79) 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[146] Faga and Ede (n 79) 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[147] Act No 11 of 2019.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[148] Faga and Ede (n 79) 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[149] UNEP, Abidjan Convention Network and Revitalization (IW:LEARN Report, 2013) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[150] ibid, 1. 165
\r\nibid, 1; see also Abidjan Convention 1981, art 4.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[151] UNEP (n 84) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[152] Julien Rochette and Romain Schumm, ‘West Africa is mobilising to protect the marine environment’ (IDDRI Blog, 9 July 2019) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[153] ibid, 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[154] ibid, 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[155] CEHRD (n 4) 40.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[156] ibid, 40. 172
\r\nRochette and Schumm (n 86) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[157] ibid, 1. 174
\r\nUNEP (n 84) 1; see also Rochette and Schumm (n 86) 1.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[158] Rochette and Schumm (n 86) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[159] Iwuorie (n 17) 62.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[160] Rochette and Schumm (n 86) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[161] Faga and Ede (n 79) 105; see also Ramsar Convention 1971.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[162] S R Monsurat et al. (n 60) 490.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[163] ibid, 490.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[164] Maji (n 34) 36.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[165] National Environmental (Coastal and Marine Area Protection) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No 18 of 2011), reg 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[166] NESREA Act (n 59), s 7.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[167] S R Monsurat et al. (n 60) 495.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[168] Fatokun (n 21) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[169] Faga and Ede (n 79) 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[170] ibid, 105.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[171] Adamu (n 1) 44.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[172] Adamu (n 1) 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[173] ibid, 19.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[174] ibid, 18.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[175] ibid, 18. 193
\r\nCEHRD (n 4) 32.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[176] Adamu (n 1) 19.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[177] ibid, 47. 196
\r\nAdamu (n 1) 25.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[178] ibid, 25.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[179] ibid, 47. 199
\r\nCEHRD (n 4) 31.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[180] ibid, 31.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[181] ibid, 31.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[182] ibid, 31. 203
\r\nCEHRD (n 4) 31.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[183] ibid, 32. 205
\r\nFatokun (n 21) 2.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[184] ibid, 2. 207
\r\nAdamu (n 1) 26.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[185] ibid, 26.
\r\n\r\n\r\n[186] ibid, 26.
\r\n"
},
"articleBody": "Nigeria possessed extensive maritime endowments, including an 850-kilometre coastline and an Exclusive Economic Zone of over 200 nautical miles, holding an untapped blue economy potential estimated at 296 billion USD. However, the sustainable exploitation of these marine and coastal resources was severely hindered by a fragmented, multicephalous, and reactive legal and institutional framework. This article critically examined the jurisprudential architecture underpinning Nigeria\u2019s ocean and coastal governance, identifying core structural vulnerabilities, including intense federal-state jurisdictional conflicts over navigable waters and coastal land-use, overlapping statutory mandates among regulatory agencies, administrative enforcement crises over environmental compliance, and barriers to liability in transnational environmental litigation. Through a doctrinal analysis of constitutional provisions, primary legislation, and recent landmark judicial decisions, this article exposed how the balkanised regulatory landscape frustrated effective marine conservation and sustainable maritime trade. This study incorporated comparative legal perspectives from developed and developing ocean states, namely Norway, Singapore, Brazil, and South Africa, to extract strategic policy lessons for Nigeria. It revealed how centralised ocean governance, environmental criminalisation, mandatory civil liability insurance, and comprehensive domestication of multilateral environmental agreements could resolve domestic regulatory blockages. Ultimately, the article argued for a paradigm shift from sectoral balkanisation to a centralised, integrated ocean management model, operationalised through Marine Spatial Planning and the establishment of a unified National Ocean Governance Commission under the newly created Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.",
"dataAvailability": "Upon request"
}
</script>
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