Mapping the Weaknesses of Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment Mechanism as a Framework for Environmental Justice in the Petroleum Sector

Nigeria has the largest oil reserve in Africa and the 10th largest in the world from which the extraction of fossil fuels takes place on about 50 million hectares of public land.Hydrocarbon extraction has intensified environmental injustice by destroying aquatic resources, impairing livelihoods, violating human rights, and posing threats to public health arising from the disproportionate distribution of toxic substances and other environmental burdens associated with oil industry operations.The environmental impact assessment system constitutes the primary framework for environmental justice in the petroleum industry.Using the analytical model as methodology, and case law and relevant literature as sources of data, this study examines the weaknesses of Nigeria's environmental impact assessment system as a modality of environmental protection.Based on the identified shortcomings in the impact assessment regime which accentuate environmental injustice, the study recommends, among others, a review of the impact assessment instrument to accord with contemporary realities.