EXAMINATION OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Despite the importance of clean air and the dependence of the right to life on clean air, Nigeria has failed to enact adequate laws to prevent air pollution. This paper aims to discuss the gaps in the laws which prevent adequate protection of clean air in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper will help policymakers with knowledge of the areas that need reform in the discussed laws. The paper adopted doctrinal approach through the use of primary sources such as statutes, case laws and opinion of scholars as secondary source among others. The paper found that the right to clean air is explicitly contained in a few subsidiary legislations in Nigeria. Nonetheless, this paper concludes that there is a paramount need to upgrade the of status of environmental rights in the Nigerian Constitution if the right to clean air is to be effectively protected.