The Conflict over Natural Resources in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria: Who Is To Blame?

Nigeria's Niger Delta region is rich in minerals, particularly oil and gas; however, it is severely underdeveloped and lacks government attention and infrastructure. It is characterised by environmental degradation, poverty, and pollution, while contributing billions of dollars to the development of other parts of Nigeria. The Land Use Act and the Petroleum Act, part of Nigeria's 1999 constitution, suggest that the federal government controls natural resources in the air, water, and land within Nigeria's territorial integrity. The injustice against the people of the Niger Delta has reached its apex, resulting in conflict and outbursts from the Niger Delta community for environmental protection from the negative effects of foreign oil exploitation. The document analysis was adopted as the methodology for this paper, and the revolutionary theory served as the theoretical framework that anchored this study, which concluded that the Niger Delta conflicts are escalated by judicial and constitutional injustices in the Nigerian state.