In a landmark judgment affirming the public’s right to environmental accountability and transparency, the Federal High Court, Lagos, has granted the application of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), compelling the Federal Government to release critical information on gas flaring activities in the country.

Delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/251/2021, Justice A.O Faji ruled in favour of HEDA’s request for an order of mandamus, thereby directing President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun to provide detailed data on oil and gas companies flaring gas in Nigeria between 2015 and 2020.

Specifically, the court ordered the respondents to release the names of all oil and gas companies involved in gas flaring in Nigeria; volumes of gas flared by each company; penalties due from the companies for gas flaring; and actual penalties paid within the five-year period.

The judgment upheld HEDA’s position that public access to such data is fundamental to environmental justice and national accountability.

Despite efforts by the respondents’ legal team to have the suit struck out, the court held that the application had merit and granted the relief sought.

This legal victory stems from HEDA’s broader campaign for environmental justice, climate accountability, and transparent governance in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

HEDA had initiated the suit after repeated Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, headed by the President as the Minister as well as that of Finance, headed by Edun were ignored.

Reacting to the judgment, HEDA’s chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, described the court’s decision as a major win for environmental rights defenders, anti-corruption advocates, and the Nigerian public.

The case, Suraju said, reaffirms the importance of judicial action in enforcing transparency and environmental justice, especially where administrative silence has failed the public interest.

Culled Guardian