THE RIGHT TO A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES OF RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT.

ABSTRACT
The right to a healthy environment is a fundamental human right that is not explicitly recognized in the Nigerian constitution. While Nigeria has ratified several international treaties that enshrine this right, such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the country has faced significant challenges in translating these commitments into effective domestic legislation and enforcement. One of the primary obstacles is the lack of a clear legal framework that defines the scope and content of the right to a healthy environment. This has led to a fragmented and inconsistent approach to environmental protection, with various government agencies and laws addressing different aspects of environmental management. Additionally, the judicial system has been hesitant to interpret the existing constitutional provisions, such as the right to life and dignity, as encompassing the right to a healthy environment. Furthermore, the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations in Nigeria has been hampered by weak institutional capacity, inadequate funding, and a lack of political will. This has resulted in widespread environmental degradation, including air and water pollution, deforestation, and the loss of biodiversity, which disproportionately affects marginalized communities. This work therefore, using the doctrinal methodology aims at assessing the challenges of recognition and enforcement of the right to a healthy environment in Nigeria.
The work finds that though Nigeria has recognised the right to a healthy environment by its constitutional provisions. However, the recognition is without enforcement power as the relevant provision in the same constitution makes it mandatory that the recognition is non-justiciable.
Secondly, the other window of recognition and enforcement which is the domestication of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right has been water down through judicial attitude demonstrated through case laws interpretation.
Also, the work finds that weak institutional capacity and lack of political will by the relevant governmental agencies saddled with the task of enforcement has made matter worse for the recognition and enforcement of the right to a healthy environment. As a way of redress, the paper advocate for amendment of the constitutional provision on the right to a healthy environment by making it enforceable, the right attitude and boldness by judicial officers in the interpretation of the right.
Furthermore, the paper calls for a comprehensive enlightenment program for the citizens and training and retraining of our enforcement officers to increase their capacity and strengthen the enforcement apparatus.