DEPARTMENT OF LAW

After the discovery of crude oil in the Niger Delta, its exploration and exploitation has generated substantial revenue and contributed significantly to the nation’s economic development; however, arising from these activities are extensive environmental degradation, social dislocation and economic hardship and marginalization of host communities. Oil spill since the 1970s have posed severe and persistent challenges to sustainable development of the region and also general well- being of its indigenes. This research paper examines the legal, economic, social and environmental impacts/implications of recurrent oil spill incidence in the Niger Delta Region. It analyses the effectiveness of Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework in addressing these challenges, while focusing on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (establishment) Act (NOSDRA), 2006 and other environmental protection laws. This research also acknowledges international legislation and principles, such as polluter pays, precautionary and sustainable development doctrines to evaluate Nigeria’s compliance to global environmental standards. Through a combination of statutory provisions, policy document, scholarly literature and international obligations, this research identifies the gap and deficiencies in enforcement mechanism, regulatory oversight and corporate accountability in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. This research further explores the nexus between environmental degradation and human rights, accessing the extent to which affected communities have access to justice and effective remedies under domestic and international law. The findings reveal that despite the existence of a robust legal framework, weak institutional implementation, political interference and inadequate community participation have undermined the realization of environment justice in Nigeria. I concluded this study with the recommendation that Nigerian legal system will need substantial reform to enhance transparency, strengthen enforcement, and promote participatory governance in environmental regulation. I recommended further that Nigeria needs to establish a special environmental court, increase community participation and involvement in decision-making with regards the environment and to domesticate relevant international conventions to ensure oil exploration and production are concluded in a manner consistent with principles of environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative technologies that can create literary, artistic, musical, and audiovisual works with minimal or no human involvement, has posed significant challenges to the fundamental principles of copyright law. Traditional copyright frameworks are based on human creativity, originality, and identifiable authorship. However, the rise of AI-generated content in the digital age or era has muddled these concepts and introduced complex legal dilemmas surrounding copyright validity, authorship attribution, and ownership rights. These issues are increasingly pertinent worldwide and are particularly critical in Nigeria, where the digital innovation landscape is rapidly evolving alongside the implementation of the Copyright Act 2022, which does not explicitly address fully autonomous AI-generated works. This dissertation aims to explore the legal framework governing copyright ownership of AIgenerated content in the digital age, with a distinct emphasis on the Nigerian legal context. The research evaluates whether existing provisions under the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022 sufficiently tackle problems related to authorship, originality, and ownership regarding AI-generated works. The study's objectives include uncovering conceptual and doctrinal deficiencies in the current legal structure, assessing the operational efficacy of copyright protection and enforcement mechanisms, and analyzing the broader legal, socio-economic, and policy implications of creativity driven by AI. Additionally, the research intends to glean insights from international and comparative legal systems to suggest potential strategies for future legal and policy reforms in Nigeria. To meet these aims, the research employs a doctrinal legal methodology that involves a comprehensive analysis of primary legal sources, which include international copyright treaties, regional agreements, national laws, and relevant judicial rulings. It scrutinizes key international agreements like the Berne Convention, the TRIPS Agreement, and the WIPO Internet Treaties to outline the global normative standards for copyright protection, while also critically assessing the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022 as the chief or main domestic legal text. Furthermore, secondary sources such as academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, policy documents, and reports from international and regional organizations are utilized to provide scholarly and contextual insights on the matter. The study additionally adopts a comparative legal perspective by looking at how various jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and certain Asian and African nations, have tackled the copyright challenges associated with AI-generated content. This comparative examination facilitates an assessment of the diverse legal responses to authorship and ownership of AI-generated works and helps identify best practices that could be relevant to Nigeria. An analytical and evaluative method is employed to assess the sufficiency of the current legal and institutional frameworks, particularly in relation to enforcement issues in the digital landscape. In summary, the dissertation offers a thorough legal analysis of AI-generated content and copyright ownership, concentrating on the effectiveness of current legal frameworks and methodologies. It establishes a groundwork for informed legal reform by identifying critical issues and providing insights aimed at achieving a balanced copyright system that fosters technological innovation while protecting intellectual property rights in the digital age.

The exploration and production of petroleum resources in Nigeria have long generated immense economic wealth but also severe environmental degradation and social dislocation, particularly in oil-producing regions such as the Niger Delta. Despite the existence of multiple legal and regulatory instruments designed to ensure compensation for affected communities, widespread grievances persist over inadequate redress, environmental pollution, and inequitable distribution of oil wealth. This study, therefore, evaluates the effectiveness of the laws governing compensation for oil-producing regions in Nigeria, with
a view to identifying the structural, institutional, and procedural weaknesses that undermine justice and sustainability in the Nigerian oil sector. Adopting a doctrinal and comparative research methodology, the study examines Nigeria’s primary legal
instruments which include including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, the Land Use Act 1978, the Oil Pipelines Act, the NOSDRA Act 2006, etc. It analyzes their provisions on compensation, environmental remediation, and community participation. It further compares Nigeria’s compensation framework with those of other oil-producing jurisdictions, namely Norway, Canada, Ghana, Alaska, and South Africa, to extract best practices and policy lessons relevant to Nigeria’s context. This study finds that while Nigeria’s legal framework is elaborate on paper, its effectiveness is hampered by legislative fragmentation, institutional overlap, poor enforcement, and limited community
participation. Compensation mechanisms are often opaque, inconsistently applied, and insufficiently linked to environmental restoration or livelihood recovery. Conversely, the comparative jurisdictions demonstrate that effective compensation depends on clear statutory duties, strong institutional capacity, judicial enforceability, and public transparency. For example, South Africa’s rights-based approach to environmental protection and Norway’s integration of oil revenues into long-term social welfare provide instructive models for reform.
Based on these findings, the study recommends a comprehensive restructuring of Nigeria’s compensation system. It concludes that true compensation extends beyond monetary payment, it encompasses environmental rehabilitation, livelihood restoration, and respect for the human and environmental rights of oil-producing communities. In achieving these reforms, Nigeria can transform its compensation framework from a reactive mechanism of damage control into a proactive instrument of social justice, environmental protection, and sustainable development, setting a continental standard for equitable resource governance.

This study appraises the civil remedies available to owners of copyright works in Nigeria, with a view to evaluating their effectiveness in protecting the rights of creators. Despite the existence of the 2022 Copyright laws in Nigeria. copyright infringement remains a pervasive issue, resulting in significant economic losses for creators and owners of copyright works. The effectiveness of civil remedies in protecting the rights of copyright owners in Nigeria is uncertain, and the extent to which these remedies provide adequate redress for infringementis unclear. The aim of this study is to examine works that are protected by copyright and
inquire whether the remedies provided by the law in protecting the victims are adequate or whether there is need to seek other avenues beyond the ones provided by law to compensate these victims. This study will adopt the doctrinal / analytical research method which will include researching into constitutions, statutes, conventions or treaties and other international agreements, case laws (judicial decisions), journals and books. Relevant laws, regulations and judicial decisions related to Copyright Law in Nigeria will be analyzed. This study underscores the imperative for copyright holders and researchers to pursue remedies for
copyright infringements through civil litigation, thereby invigorating efforts to safeguard intellectual property rights. The findings reveal that while various civil remedies, including damages, injunctions and accounts of profits, are available to copyright owners, their effectiveness is hindered by several challenges, including inadequate enforcement mechanism, lack of awareness, and
corruption. The research contributes to the literature on Copyright Law and civil remedies in Nigeria, and provides insight for policy makers, legal practitioners, and creators seeking to protect their intellectual property rights.

International law plays a crucial role in governing relations between states, addressing issues such as human rights, conflict resolution, trade, and environmental protection. However, its efficacy remains a subject of contention due to significant challenges in implementation and institutional limitations. While international law is designed to promote global order and cooperation, its enforcement is often inconsistent, primarily due to the principle of state sovereignty, which allows nations to selectively comply with legal obligations. This lack of a centralized enforcement mechanism weakens the
authority of international legal norms and limits their effectiveness in resolving global disputes. One of the key challenges of implementation lies in the voluntary nature of compliance. Unlike domestic legal systems, international law lacks a supranational authority capable of enforcing rulings and ensuring uniform adherence. Powerful states often disregard international legal decisions, while weaker states are pressured into compliance, leading to a disparity in enforcement. Additionally, international institutions such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice face political interference, funding constraints, and bureaucratic inefficiencies that hinder their ability to uphold international legal standards effectively. Furthermore, the ambiguity and inconsistencies in international legal provisions create challenges in interpretation and application. Conflicts between national legal systems and international obligations further complicate enforcement, as states prioritize domestic laws over international commitments. Moreover, international law has been slow to adapt to emerging global challenges, such as cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, and transnational terrorism, limiting its ability to address contemporary issues effectively. This study critically examines these flaws, focusing on mainstream international law rather than specialized areas. It provides a broad overview of the systemic weaknesses affecting the implementation and enforcement of international legal norms. By highlighting these challenges, the study contributes to ongoing discussions on legal reform, institutional restructuring, and the need for stronger mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of international law in the modern world.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to enhance economic integration and intra-African trade by removing barriers to the free movement of people, services, and goods. However, the fact that there are still armed conflicts in various regions of the continent poses a serious threat to the success and achievement of this regional trade regime. This essay examines the impact of armed conflict on regional integration of trade in Africa, focusing on legal and pragmatic inconsistencies between AfCFTA and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) rules. The essay examines how conflicts impact trade corridors, infrastructure, and markets, thereby undermining the objectives of the AfCFTA. It also explores whether and how the legal orders governing trade and war (i.e., the AfCFTA Agreement and IHL treaties such as the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols of 1977) interact, intersect, or conflict in practice. The essay considers the state and non-state parties' obligations under the law of hostilities, notably on the protection of civilian infrastructure related to trade and humanitarian protection.

Society encourages research, exploration or attempt to discover new things that will benefit the
society, the aspect of law that seeks to protect the product of such efforts is Intellectual Property Law (IPL). Intellectual property is an aspect of law which seeks to protect intellectual endeavour. It is divided into 4 fundamental classes of which, copyright is one of the fundament classes. opyright in intellectual property are exclusive rights granted by the law. They are bundle of intangible right granted by statue to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic productions, whereby, for a limited period, the exclusive privileges is given to that person (or to any party to whom he or she transfers ownership) to make copies of the same publication and sale. These rights are subject to certain statutory exceptions and the effects of these rights is that were sufficient efforts have been expended on making a work to give it an original character it becomes the sole property of the owner and the owner has exclusive rights over the work and it will be unlawful for any person to reproduce, publish, translate, perform, rent, lease, hire, broadcast, adapt or tamper with the work without the owner’s license or assignment.

The modern tendency of the law is to recognize that children are indeed people. The Children Act 1989 defines a child as a person under the age of eighteen, this is similar with the Child Right Act, 2003. Custody is a concept inclusive of maintenance. Custody, surely concerns the responsibility of the spouse for the child in regard to the child's needs, food, clothing, education or instruction and the like. In Nigeria, child custody legislation is that the welfare of the child should be the first and paramount consideration of the court in child custody disputes. The following legislations govern child custody in Nigeria:
a. The Matrimonial Causes Act, (MCA) 1970
b. The Child's Rights Act, 2003
c. The Infants Law, 1958
The researcher wants to appraise the issues relating to child custody under the following areas:
1. Child Custody before/after divorce
2. Child custody in non-divorce situations; child adoption, fostering and guardianship/ward-ship
3. Socio-cultural perceptions on child custody in Nigeria. The context of divorce/separation of child's parents may arise where there is a breakdown or discord in
the relationship of child's parents which could lead to an action for child custody in court. Fostering involves giving parental care to a child who is not one's natural or legally adopted child Adoption severs the legal relationship between the child and the natural parents or guardians. Child's Rights Act 2003 makes provision tor adoption and this is reflected in the laws of states which have passed similar legislation. Guardianship is provided for in Part IX of Child's Rights Act 2003. A guardian is one who has legal authority and duty to care for another person or property especially because of the other's infancy, incapacity or disability. The researcher also looks at the negative perceptions on child custody in Nigeria and provides criticisms.

Air pollution is a critical environmental and public health issue in Nigeria, exacerbated by rapid industrialisation, urbanisation, and inadequate enforcement of regulations. This study evaluates the legal framework for air pollution control in Nigeria, examining challenges that hinder effective regulation and proposing strategies for redress. Key statutes, such as the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act, are analysed to assess their effectiveness in addressing air pollution. The research identifies significant challenges within the legal framework, including insufficient statutory provisions, limited enforcement powers, inadequate inter-agency coordination, and weak penalties for violations. Additionally, socio- economic factors, including poverty, population growth, and political interference, further undermine the effective implementation of air quality regulations. These challenges limit the capacity of Nigerian laws to curb pollution and protect public health effectively. A comparative approach is adopted to examine international best practices in air pollution control, focusing on jurisdictions with established air quality management systems. Lessons are drawn from these systems to highlight practical measures that could enhance Nigeria’s regulatory framework. The study proposes legal and policy reforms, such as expanding the mandate and resources of environmental regulatory bodies, updating outdated legislation to incorporate contemporary pollution control technologies, enhancing public awareness, and
fostering partnerships with international organisations for technical support. By addressing these legal and policy challenges, Nigeria can reduce the adverse impacts of air pollution on public health and environmental sustainability while improving compliance with global environmental standards. This research contributes to the discourse on environmental law reform in Nigeria, offering recommendations to strengthen the air pollution control framework and providing a pathway toward a cleaner and healthier environment.

Sub-saharan Africa is home to many of the world's longest-ruling political leaders. Not less than seventeen heads of government have tried with varying degrees of success to secure longer terms in office through "constitutional coups". This is done by proposing constitutional amendments for approval by the Legislature or Judiciary or in national referenda, so that by early 2021, at least, three sub-saharan African rulers had held on to power for more than thirty years each. The aims of this study, though limited to presidential systems, is to analyze comparatively, the concept of constitutional coups in sub-saharan Africa; to examine reasons for its prevalence; to show its impact on development and security in the region with a view to proffering solutions and recommendations for wholesome reforms which, it is sincerely hoped will curb the trend. This study found that constitutional coups threaten the continuance and survival of true democracy. Democracy is dependent on the existence of strong and independent institutions able to counterbalance the enormous powers vested on the executive arm of government. These powers enable the executive to wield enormous influence over other arms of government, coercing them to do its bidding. It also finds that the most meaningful approach to curb the spate of constitutional coups is an intellectual revolution geared towards establishing an ideological order that replaces the old regime of holding on to power through constitutional coups.