In early 2021, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Center submitted a formal complaint to the Federal High Court of Lagos. The complaint challenged the failure of multiple Nigerian government institutions to respond to HEDA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The request for FOI was regarding gas flaring in the country, as HEDA was seeking access to detailed records on gas flaring, involved parties, and penalties from the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and other relevant agencies. 

HEDA contended that the agencies failure to respond to the request violates the provisions of the FOI Act, 2011, which protects the right of members of the public to request and obtain information from public institutions within seven days. The actual request was submitted to promote transparency in Nigeria’s extractive industries, as gas flaring has been a long-standing environmental and public health risk in Nigeria. Even though environmental regulations and financial penalties for gas flaring are outlined in the Associated Gas Re-Injection Act, HEDA questioned the inconsistent enforcement of the law. 

In terms of relief, HEDA’s complaint sought for the court to order the government to release a list of companies issued permits to flare gas, the volumes of gas flared by each company from 2016-2021, the penalties imposed on these companies, records of penalties paid, and any additional documentation related to enforcement actions or non-compliance. HEDA also grounded its claims in Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights and environmental treaties focused on climate change mitigation, such as the Paris Agreement. 

In May of 2025, the Federal High Court ruled in favor of Lagos, ordering the government to release the requested documents. The court found that the release of the information was of public interest and that the Federal Government had no legal grounds for withholding the information.

HEDA Resource Centre v. Nigerian Government (gas flaring)

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Filed

In early 2021, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Center submitted a formal complaint to the Federal High Court of Lagos. The complaint challenged the failure of multiple Nigerian government institutions to respond to HEDA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request. The request for FOI was regarding gas flaring in the country, as HEDA was seeking access to detailed records on gas flaring, involved parties, and penalties from the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and other relevant agencies. 

HEDA contended that the agencies failure to respond to the request violates the provisions of the FOI Act, 2011, which protects the right of members of the public to request and obtain information from public institutions within seven days. The actual request was submitted to promote transparency in Nigeria’s extractive industries, as gas flaring has been a long-standing environmental and public health risk in Nigeria. Even though environmental regulations and financial penalties for gas flaring are outlined in the Associated Gas Re-Injection Act, HEDA questioned the inconsistent enforcement of the law. 

In terms of relief, HEDA’s complaint sought for the court to order the government to release a list of companies issued permits to flare gas, the volumes of gas flared by each company from 2016-2021, the penalties imposed on these companies, records of penalties paid, and any additional documentation related to enforcement actions or non-compliance. HEDA also grounded its claims in Nigeria’s obligations under international human rights and environmental treaties focused on climate change mitigation, such as the Paris Agreement. 

In May of 2025, the Federal High Court ruled in favor of Lagos, ordering the government to release the requested documents. The court found that the release of the information was of public interest and that the Federal Government had no legal grounds for withholding the information. 

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives