CONSTITUTIONAL DIMENSIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: RECONCILING PUBLIC INTEREST AND PRIVATE RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Environmental degradation in Nigeria has become a constitutional problem implicating life, dignity, distributive justice, and intergenerational equity. Although section 20 of the 1999 Constitution directs the State to protect the environment, its non-justiciability under section 6(6)(c) weakens enforceability and entrenches regulatory inertia. This article argues for constitutional absorption of environmental health into the justiciable rights to life and dignity (sections 33 and 34) via purposive interpretation. Drawing on India, South Africa, Europe, and the ECOWAS Court, it shows that constitutional silence does not preclude environmental rights adjudication. It proposes a structured proportionality framework to balance public interest and private property, and recommends institutional reforms—specialised courts, legislative harmonisation, stronger regulators, and supervisory remedies (continuing mandamus, structural injunctions). Environmental health is not a policy preference but a constitutional imperative necessary for human dignity, ecological stewardship, and sustainable development.