The Application of Strict Liability Rule in Rylands V Fletcher to Oil Spills in Nigeria

Abstract

The Research Paper ‘Application of the Strict Liability Rule in Rylands v Fletcher to Oil Spills in Nigeria’, is a robust and timely evaluation of the legal concept of Strict Liability as it applies to the recurrent problem of oil spillage in Nigeria. For several decades now, crude oil production sites have regularly spilled oil and other petroleum-related chemicals, into the riverine communities of the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. This has sometimes devastated the fishing and farming livelihoods of the poor villages within the vicinity of such spillages, and agricultural productivity is greatly reduced. This is in addition to air pollution, wildlife decline and overall environmental degradation. This paper looks at efforts to hold accountable those responsible for such degradation using the concept of Strict Liability. In order to obtain justice and compensation for the riverine communities, it must be proven that the offending oil companies were guilty of nuisance and negligence, as described by the Rule in Rylands v Fletcher. The companies are expected to know that their activities are reasonably likely to cause far-reaching destruction to the environment. Concluding, the paper makes recommendations to further tackle the problem of oil spillage in Nigeria.