Human Rights Considerations in the Exercise of Ownership of Natural Resources in Nigeria

Abstract

One of the most important characteristics of natural resources is that they
possess different kinds of important values for humans. Ownership of Natural resources is a constitutional issue under Nigerian law. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 grants exclusive ownership of natural resources to the federal government for the common good and benefit of the citizens. The paper examines human rights issues in the exercise of ownership of natural resources in Nigeria. The doctrinal method of legal research was adopted by this paper. The paper finds that the economic advantages of natural resources are at the heart of the demand for ownership. It also finds that the right to possess natural resources rests around the exercise of ownership and that its deprivation encompasses everything that has the immediate or remote ability to cause death. The paper concludes that the rights to life, property, and ownership of natural resources are all interconnected. The paper recommends that these rights should be enforceable by the Indigenous people in the resources-bearing community to reduce restiveness over ownership of natural resources. The study also recommended that the Nigerian courts act as a legal beacon in the pursuit of fundamental human rights in Nigeria.