INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN NIGERIA’S NIGER RIVER DELTA REGION:


  

 

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Industrial Waste Management and Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta Region 

of Nigeria: Issues and Realities 

 

Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka 

Department of Political Science 

University of Maiduguri,  

Borno State, Nigeria 

ugonnenna@gmail.com 

& 

Eleje Joy Ngozi 

Department of Political Science 

Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu 

elejej@yahoo.com 

 

Abstract  

The discovery of huge crude oil deposits in Oloibiri present-day Bayelsa state in 1956, and 

the subsequent drilling and refining of this great natural resource since 1958 has no doubt 

brought immeasurable industrial revolution to Nigeria. However, the attendant consequence 

of waste generation came with it as an extra baggage which can never be deemed as 

unexpected. The challenge actually in the Niger Delta situation has over time become proper 

management of industrial wastes generated daily in huge tonnage. Nigeria’s Niger Delta 

region over the years has been paying the huge price for this social malaise. This paper 

focuses on the fact that the improper management of industrial waste has been thriving and 

taking its disastrous toll on the people because of dysfunctional administrative systems, thus 

continuously exposing the environment– both land and sea habitats to avertable danger. The 

paper concludes that effective management strategies if and when deployed would sanitize 

the region and enhance the living standard of its people. 

Keywords: Environmental pollution, Industry, Niger Delta, Refinery, Waste management 

 

Introduction 

Waste is simply defined as something that the producer no longer needs, and therefore 

discards. Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, composed of nine states of the federation from three 

geopolitical zones – South-south, south-east and South-west – is unarguably the nation’s 

industrial hub. Its constituent states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, 

Imo, Ondo and Rivers states. The region has over time been witnessing tremendous 

environmental pollution due to oil exploration, drilling and associated production activities. 

Oil refineries, petrochemical industries, allied production facilities, etc., generate a lot of 

industrial wastes, some of which are toxic and hazardous to both plant and animal (human of 

primary consideration) life. Many industrial economies only care to dispose waste in the 

cheapest means, actually just bothering to see the waste leave their premises and not caring 

where they end up. And many expatriate companies in the Niger Delta come from these 

economies. A lot of issues have been raised for decades due to the neglect of the region and 

mailto:ugonnenna@gmail.com
mailto:elejej@yahoo.com


Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka & Eleje Joy Ngozi 

 

the monumental decay across all habitats which continuously adversely affect the regional 

people’s existence. The struggle for survival has also led to various forms of crisis, agitations 

and general strife by the people. The reality on ground remains that the region requires in-

depth focus and attention if its people will be salvaged. Hunger, destitution, flooding, oil 

spillage and poor road network are some of the prominent issues stemming from waste 

management malpractices in the region. Most painful is the fact that the Niger Delta supplies 

Nigeria with its economic mainstay. It is no news that every annual budget of the nation’s 

federal government is based on an oil benchmark. And Nigeria’s pride of place in the global 

scheme of events is as a result of this very important natural endowment and natural resource 

– crude oil. The Niger Delta has lost many lives to the economic disaster generated by 

environmental pollution. Notable among these people are foremost author and activist, Ken 

Saro-Wiwa who was murdered by the federal government, and the massacre of Odi people by 

the Olusegun Obasanjo regime. This paper is focused on discussing the issues and realities of 

bad industrial waste management and environmental pollution in the Niger Delta.  

Conceptual Framework 

The Concept of Industrial Waste Management 

Industrial solid waste means solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes 

that is not a hazardous waste regulated under Subtitle C of RCRA (Resource Conservation 

and Recovery Act, 1976. This is the public law that creates the framework for the proper 

management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. The law describes the waste 

management program mandated by Congress that gave EPA authority to develop 

the RCRA program.)  Such waste may include, but is not limited to, waste resulting from the 

following manufacturing processes: electric power generation; fertilizer/agricultural 

chemicals; food and related products/by-products; inorganic chemicals; iron and steel 

manufacturing; leather and leather products; nonferrous metals manufacturing/foundries; 

organic chemicals; plastics and resins manufacturing; pulp and paper industry; rubber and 

transportation equipment; and water treatment.  

Designations of industrial waste are toxic waste, chemical waste, industrial solid waste and 

municipal solid waste. The concept of industrial waste management is the set of strategies 

used to handle industrial waste removal and disposal in a timely but cost-effective manner 

that is also in compliance with regulations. These can be radioactive wastes, harmful and 

toxic. Others can be consumer waste which may or may not be harmful. Nigeria is a party to 

some international and regional conventions, agreement and protocols concerning 

environmental management. Some other domestic statutes enacted by the Nigerian legislature 

have been documented to guide waste management in the nation. Some of these legislations 

include: 

 

1. The 1988 Basel Convention which dealt with trans-boundary movement of toxic and 

hazardous waste.  

 



  

 

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2. A May 1988 resolution of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now African 

Union (AU) proclaiming the dumping of nuclear and industrial waste in Africa to be a 

crime against Africa and its people.  

 

3. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Act of 1988.  This was 

established by Decree 55 of December 30th 1988. The Act vested FEPA with the 

statutory responsibility for overall protection of the environment. It requires FEPA to 

issue environmental guidelines and standards for the abatement and control of all 

forms of pollution. In 1991, FEPA established an inspectorate and enforcement 

department with divisions for standard regulation, chemical tracking and compliance 

monitoring.  

 

4. The Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provision, Etc.) Act 1988. Essentially a penal 

legislation, this Act was enacted with the specific object of prohibiting the carrying, 

depositing and dumping of hazardous wastes on any land, territorial waters and 

matters relating thereto.  

 

5. The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007. 

 

Improper Waste Management as a Cause of Environmental Pollution 

All industrial wastes generated wherever and discarded with reckless abandon constitute 

environmental pollution. The nature of these wastes includes: 

 

1. Emissions from both the oil and non-oil related industries which dominate industrial 

activities in the Niger Delta. Such industries as refinery, petrochemical, liquefied 

natural gas (LNG), cement, paper, chemical fertilizer, aluminum smelter, battery, 

flour, wood, and textile industries, etc., emit various kinds of air pollutants which add 

to the burden of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the air. 

 

2. Gas flaring from natural gas extracted in oil wells in the Niger Delta from which 

much of it is immediately flared into the environment at an approximate rate of 70 

million /m3 per day. 

 

3. Open air burning of some industrial wastes which generates varieties of toxins and 

hazardous pollutants that include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, 

Polychloro Biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals such as lead, nickel and mercury. 

Oftentimes, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volatile 

organic compounds (VOCs) are also emitted into the air. 

 

4. Exhaust fumes from chimneys and dumpsites. 



Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka & Eleje Joy Ngozi 

 

 

It is noteworthy that some conventional pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand 

(BOD) can be handled using sewage treatment plants. Other industrial wastes containing 

toxic pollutants require specialized treatment systems. The importance of industrial waste 

management is geared towards protecting human health and sustaining the environment. 

The Effects of Improper Waste Management on the Niger River Delta People 

1. Health: Exposure to most toxic waste and radioactive substances constitute grave 

health hazards to the people of the Niger Delta. A key case in point is the Koko toxic 

waste saga of 1988. After two Italian firms had arranged for the storage of 18,000 

drums of hazardous waste disguised as building materials stored in “over 2,000 drums, 

sacks, and containers” with Koko residents, the leaking drums began emitting a very 

offensive odour. And the inhabitants of the area were already getting sick by the time 

the industrial waste was identified. A British environmental group analyzed the 

material and determined that 28 percent of the waste contained polychlorinated 

biphenyl (PCB), a combustible substance that could produce a highly toxic compound 

called dioxin. Online reports state that:  

“Neighbors exposed to the toxic waste, which contained PCBs, dimethyl 

formaldehyde, and asbestos fibers, suffered nausea, paralysis, and 

premature births.” 

2. Food Security (production): Industrial wastes reduce soil fertility and either kill 

economic food crops or reduce their yield. This gives rise to food insufficiency and 

insecurity. In a survey of some affected communities in the Niger Delta, Ordinioha & 

Sawyer (2008) found that the food insecurity and deterioration of the quality of the 

staple food often leads to an increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition. 

3. Rise in militancy and uprising in the region: The Niger Delta region has witnessed 

many agitations and unrest as its people keep fighting for their survival. The situation 

is especially worrisome in Ogoni land, an ethnic minority in the Niger Delta which 

has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s. Ogoni land is an area which 

has been a major flash point in the struggle for resource control. Its people have 

suffered extreme environmental damage due to decades of indiscriminate petroleum 

waste dumping. Nigerian writer, television producer and environmental activist, Ken 

Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was an Ogoni man, initially the 

spokesperson, and later, the president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni 

People (MOSOP). Saro-Wiwa was outspoken in criticizing the federal government of 

Nigeria’s reluctance to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum 

companies operating in his homeland. He led a non-violent campaign against 

environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoni land by the operations of 

the multinational petroleum industry; the Royal Dutch Shell company being at the 

lead. At the peak of his campaign, Saro-Wiwa was tried by a special military tribunal 

for allegedly masterminding the gruesome murder of Ogoni chiefs at a pro-



  

 

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government meeting. In 1995, he was hanged by late military dictator General Sani 

Abacha. 

Another gruesome episode in the Niger Delta, “The Odi Massacre” began on 

November 20, 1999, by the Nigerian military on the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi 

in Bayelsa State. The attack came in the context of an ongoing conflict in the Niger 

Delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection. There is 

yet no accurate figure on the number of lives and financial value of properties 

destroyed by the military’s attack believed to have been ordered by then president 

Obasanjo. 

4. The clamour for resource control: The history of the Niger Delta is characterized 

by agitation for resource control. First, after the abolition of slave trade in 1807, local 

traders engaged in ‘resource control’ struggles to participate actively in the trade in oil 

palm. (Ako & Okonmah: 2009)] Similarly, resource control was one of the highlights 

of the Ijaws’ representation to the Willink Commission to Enquire into the Fears of 

the Minorities and the Means of Allaying Them in 1957.  Ako (2011) wrote that 

resource control struggles in the post-crude oil era that began with the botched Boro-

led attempt to create the Niger Delta Republic in 1966 has culminated in 

contemporary oil-related restiveness in the region. A Human Rights Watch (1999) 

report wrote that since the Ijaw representatives failed to achieve their desired results 

to be left out of independent Nigeria, or, alternatively have a state created, subsequent 

‘resource control’ struggles have suffered a similar fate. In Okafor’s (1974) opinion, 

the Ijaws’ argument that the peculiar problems of those living in the creeks and the 

swamps of the delta were not understood and indeed were deliberately neglected by 

both the regional and federal governments remains true till date and feeds into the 

resource control struggle. 

The contemporary notions of resource control have been characterized by both 

peaceful and violent activities. While the period when the Ogonis were at the 

forefront of the struggle was largely peaceful, the recent shift of focus to the Ijaws 

witnessed an escalation in militancy and violence. Many pipelines and other oil 

facilities were blown and the area witnessed high records of armed conflict and 

brigandage especially in 2016. The struggle has also generated a rise in abductions 

especially of oil expatriates. Ukeje (2011) states that the response of the federal 

government has typically included the creation of development boards, state creation, 

and more recently, the amnesty initiative. The relative peace in the region and 

consequent increase in oil production figures is touted as evidence of the success of 

the amnesty initiative by the federal government. The federal government seems to be 

focused on relishing the euphoria of its touted success with its amnesty programme. 

However, the underlying issues that instigated and/or exacerbated the agitation for 

resource control and resultant restiveness in the region are yet to be addressed. The 



Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka & Eleje Joy Ngozi 

 

government has not actually invested any meaningful resources to remedy the root 

causes of the agitation for resource control. Its primary interest is in dissipating 

billions of dollars in assuaging heated tempers across the region through educational 

and vocational amnesty programmes for “ex-militants”. The agitation for resource 

control can be said to not have recorded any meaningful success. 

5. The climate: On decomposing, some industrial wastes release greenhouse gases into 

the atmosphere. These gases may cause abnormality of weather condition and 

consequently cause unnecessary climate changes which are inimical to the people’s 

survival. 

6. Armed Banditry: Civil unrest, abductions, cultism and general militancy have been 

on the rise in the region due to its peoples’ discontent with the federal government 

and oil companies’ approach to sanitizing the region. 

Efforts aimed at addressing the Problem 

Some government intervention efforts over time targeted at improving the overall conditions 

of the Niger Delta people especially the ecological situation include the creation of the Niger 

Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) and the 

latest Clean-Up Ogoni land Initiative. 

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) 

In the year 2000 former president Olusegun Obasanjo established the Niger Delta 

Development Commission (NDDC) with sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta 

region of Nigeria. The vision of the NDDC is: To offer a lasting solution to the socio-

economic difficulties of the Niger Delta Region. Its mission is: To facilitate the rapid, even 

and sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region that is economically 

prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful. 

The NDDC Mandate reads: 

 Formulation of policies and guidelines for the development of the Niger Delta area. 

 Conception, planning and implementation, in accordance with set rules and 

regulations, of projects and programs for sustainable development of the Niger Delta 

area in the field of transportation including roads, jetties and waterways, health, 

employment, industrialization, agriculture and fisheries, housing and urban 

development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications. 

 Surveying the Niger Delta in order to ascertain measures necessary to promote its 

physical and socio-economic development. 

 Preparing master plans and schemes designed to promote the physical development of 

the Niger Delta region and the estimation of the member states of the Commission. 



  

 

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 Implementation of all the measures approved for the development of the Niger Delta 

region by the Federal Government and the states of the Commission. 

 Identify factors inhibiting the development of the Niger Delta region and assisting the 

member states in the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure sound and 

efficient management of the resources of the Niger Delta region. 

 Assessing and reporting on any project being funded or carried out in the region by oil 

and gas companies and any other company, including non-governmental 

organizations, as well as ensuring that funds released for such projects are properly 

utilized. 

 Tackling ecological and environmental problems that arise from the exploration of oil 

mineral in the Niger Delta region and advising the Federal Government and the 

member states on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and 

environmental pollution. 

 Liaising with the various oil mineral and gas prospecting and producing companies on 

all matters of pollution, prevention and control. 

This also includes executing such other works and performing such other functions, which in 

the option of the Commission are required for the sustainable development of the Niger Delta 

region and its people. 

It is noteworthy that much as the Agency has tried since its establishment, the region still 

suffers untold penury even with the subject of discourse being maximally captured in its 

mandate. 

Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs 

Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua created this ministry on September 10, 2008 to 

promote and coordinate policies for the development, peace and security of the Niger Delta 

Region. This came as a direct response to the series of agitations by the people of the Region 

on the perceived sense of exclusion, environmental degradation, poverty and unemployment 

facing the region. The Vision Statement of the Ministry is to serve as the primary vehicle for 

the execution of Government’s plans and programmes for rapid socio-economic development 

of the Region. While the Mission Statement is to formulate and execute plans, programmes 

and other initiatives as well as to coordinate the activities of Agencies, Communities, Donors 

and other relevant Stakeholders involved in the development of the Region. 

Functions of the Ministry are to: 

1. Oversee the implementation of Government policies on the development and security of 

the Niger Delta Region; 



Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka & Eleje Joy Ngozi 

 

2. Coordinate the formulation of the Development Plan for the Region; 

3. Formulate policies and programmes for youth mobilization and empowerment in the 

Niger Delta Region; 

4.  Advise Government on security issues concerning the Region; 

5. Liaise with relevant Government, Non-Government and private organizations; 

6. Formulate and coordinate policies for environmental management in the Region; 

7. Liaise with host communities for the enhancement of the welfare of the people and the 

development of the Region; 

8. Facilitate private sector involvement in the development of the Region; 

9. Plan and supervise public education/enlightenment programmes; 

10. Liaise with oil companies operating in the Region to ensure environmental protection and 

pollution control; 

11. Organize human capacity development as well as Skills Acquisition Programmes for 

youths; and 

12. Take adequate measures to ensure peace, stability and security with a view to enhancing 

the economic potentials for the Region. 

This paper notes that the subject of discourse is specifically spelt out in function No. 10. 

However, though the MNDA in its official website adjudges itself to have been performing 

creditably over the years, industrial waste management and challenges arising from 

environmental pollution have not been adequately addressed. 

Prior to the creation of the MNDA, the federal government had tried a few intervention 

schemes aimed at addressing the problems of the region. These include the establishment of 

Niger Delta Development Board of 1960, the Presidential Task Force on 1.5% Derivation 

which was set up between 1979 and 1983, and the Oil Minerals Areas Producing 

Development Commission (OMPADEC) of 1992. Unfortunately, these Agencies could not 

fully deliver the expected results. 

Clean-Up Ogoniland Initiative 

 

In a Vanguard newspaper report entitled FG fixes August for commencement of Ogoniland 

clean-up remediation, Ochayi (2018) wrote that the Federal Government set August (2018) 

ending for the clean-up of Ogoni land in Rivers State remediation exercise. This initiative 

was inaugurated in 2016 by Vice president Yemi Osinbajo. In another Vanguard newspaper 

report on June 11, 2018 entitled FG Engages 400 Companies on Ogoni Clean-up, 

Agbakwuru (2018) wrote that about 400 local and international companies have been 

engaged for the clean-up exercise of oil pollution in Ogoni land. He further quoted the 

Minister of Environment, Ibrahim Jibrin to have said that contractors will be mobilized to site 



  

 

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by August or September (2018). The minister the report disclosed lamented that oil pollution 

in Ogoni land has led to the destruction of mangrove and aquatic lives in the area. 

In a 2011 Vanguard report entitled UN report on Ogoni oil pollution: FG to sanction Shell if 

…., Amaize (2011) disclosed that the federal government may sanction shell Petroleum 

Development Company (SPDC) if it heeds calls by the Ogoni people of Rivers State, Niger 

Delta. The sanction if it had been evoked would have seen the revocation of the oil 

exploration license granted the company revoked. This followed a revelation by the United 

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which clearly established that the company 

polluted Ogoni land and caused life-threatening health hazards. This report is believed to 

have justified slain MOSOP leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni leaders executed 

alongside him in 1995. Former MOSOP president, Ledun Mitee called for the immediate 

commencement without delay, of a remediation exercise in the area. Unfortunately, the 

federal government’s reaction to the report was that it would study it before knowing the next 

step to take. Ogoni land is believed to have yielded up to $30 billion from oil operations up to 

that time. 

Suggestions and Recommendations 

In the light of the foregoing, this paper recommends as follows: 

 Exporting waste products back to the generating expatriate firm’s home country. 

 Total insistence on the exercising of Production Company’s corporate social 

responsibility. 

 Introducing and sustaining waste recycling culture in the sector. 

 Overhaul of the waste management sector especially in the Ministry of Environment 

and affiliate Agencies and Departments. 

 Promulgating more stringent waste management regulations and upholding all 

existing waste management policies (if any). 

 Revisiting all unfulfilled promises and abandoned projects by oil companies 

especially expatriate firms and multinationals. 

 Strictly addressing all forms of disregard for the environment and deliberate exposure 

of the people to health hazards according to the statutes. 

 Greater awareness and continuous enlightenment of the populace on the dangers of 

health hazards emanating from environmental neglect and industrial waste 

management malpractice. 

 Reducing, reusing and recycling waste. 



Abonyi Nichodemus Nnaemeka & Eleje Joy Ngozi 

 

Conclusion 

This paper concludes that the reality remains that the Niger Delta region is bedeviled with 

many unhealthy environmental and industrial waste management practices. However, 

effective management strategies if and when deployed would sanitize the region and enhance 

the living standard of its people. In sum, the federal government seems to have been insincere 

and unapologetic in its lackadaisical approach to tackling the environmental pollution 

challenges in the Niger Delta region. But holistic adoption of the recommendations above 

(and maybe more) would surely yield better results and grant the Niger Delta people the 

much needed succour and respite they have been yearning for for decades, and actually 

deserve. 

References 

Agbakwuru, J. (2018). FG Engages 400 Companies on Ogoni Clean-up, Vanguard June 11. 

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/fg-engages-400-companies-ogoni-clean/ 

Ako, R. & Okonmah, P. (2009). Minority Rights Issues in Nigeria: A Theoretical Analysis of 

Historical and Contemporary Conflicts in the Oil-Rich Niger Delta Region. 

International Journal on Minority and group Rights 1, 53-65. 

Ako, R. (2011). ‘The Struggle for Resource Control and Violence in the Niger Delta’, in C. 

Obi and S. Rustad, (eds.) Oil and Insurgency in the Niger Delta: Managing the 

Complex Politics and Complex (London: Zed Books, 2011), 42. 

Amaize, E. (2011). UN report on Ogoni oil pollution: FG to sanction Shell if …., Vanguard 

August 4, 2011 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/un-report-on-ogoni-oil-

pollution-fg-to-sanction-shell-if-%E2%80%A6-2/ 

MNDA official website (2013) 

Ochayi, C. (2018). FG fixes August for commencement of Ogoniland clean-up remediation 

Vanguard June 4, 2018 https://www.vanguardngr.com/.../fg-fixes-august-

commencement-ogoniland-clean-re... 

 

Okafor, S. (1974). Ideal and reality in British administrative policy in Eastern Nigeria. 73 

 African Affairs 293, 459. 

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