A Case for Retributive Punishment in Cases of Gas Flaring in Nigeria

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Africa, , language: English, abstract: Gas flaring is the burning of natural gas that is generated as by-product or consequence of crude oil production activities. Gas flaring is a major concern globally because of its impact on the society. It is therefore not a surprise that efforts are being made to combat gas flaring all over the world and Nigeria is not excluded from this drive. In Nigeria, policies have been formulated and laws and regulations passed to ensure that gas flaring comes to an end.

Similar to what obtains in other international jurisdictions, the characteristic feature of the law is to make provisions prohibiting gas flaring and enacting penal provisions to punish oil producing companies that are guilty of gas flaring. However, while some jurisdictions have made significant progress in reducing gas flaring, Nigeria has only leapfrogged in the same direction for decades. Typically, accusing finger is being pointed to slack penal regime that is not strong enough to deter oil companies from flaring associated gas. The aim of this paper is to review the current regulatory regime especially in relation to the penal provisions and make a case for the need to have more punitive penal provisions in our law.

In addressing the issue identified above, this paper attempts to review the existing regulatory regime, examine how much progress Nigeria has made at nipping the scourge of gas flaring in the bud over the years and then conclude on the need to inject more punitive provisions in our law.