Barrister Frank Tietie, Executive Director of the Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER), has called on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to appeal to the Supreme Court following a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The decision prohibits the NHRC from establishing a Special Panel of Investigation to review complaints related to oil spillage and pollution in Nigeria.
Tietie took to social media to express his dismay, saying, “This is so wrong of the Court of Appeal! Just because it involves crude oil production doesn’t mean the NHRC should be excluded from investigating these violations. I hope the NHRC will not shy away from appealing this decision, and we’d be more than willing to submit an amici brief in support.”
The ruling was delivered by Justice Okong Abang, who sided with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in an appeal against the NHRC. The appeal followed a previous decision by the Federal High Court, which had upheld the NHRC’s authority to investigate and issue orders on oil spillage complaints.
The NNPC, dissatisfied with the Federal High Court ruling, sought to have the Court of Appeal overturn the decision. Their lawyer, Olurotimi Aju, asked the Court of Appeal to affirm an order that would permanently block the NHRC from continuing to investigate complaints, including one brought by the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (Akwa Ibom Chapter) and other stakeholders, regarding oil pollution allegedly caused by Addax Petroleum Development.
Aju’s legal argument drew upon an earlier case where the Court of Appeal had ruled that complaints about oil pollution were not considered fundamental human rights issues and therefore did not fall under the NHRC’s purview.
Aju claimed that the trial judge’s failure to follow this precedent meant the NHRC was wrong to assert jurisdiction over the oil pollution complaint.
Justice Abang, delivering the Appeal Court’s unanimous decision, stated that the only authority with exclusive jurisdiction over oil pollution cases is the Federal High Court. The judge emphasized that under Section 251(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the NHRC has no power to issue enforceable orders regarding oil spillage or environmental pollution.
“The NHRC and its panels do not have the judicial authority vested in courts established by the Constitution,” Justice Abang noted. “Oil spillage and pollution fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, not the NHRC.”
He further clarified that the NHRC should have directed the complainants to the appropriate authority, rather than trying to assert jurisdiction under the guise of protecting fundamental rights.
Justice Abang sided with the NNPC’s argument, agreeing that oil pollution is not a fundamental human rights issue and that the NHRC exceeded its powers by setting up a special panel with quasi-judicial authority.
As a result, the Court of Appeal allowed NNPC’s appeal, overturned the trial court’s decision, and granted a permanent injunction prohibiting the NHRC from further involvement in the case.
