Petroleum Ownership and Administration in Nigeria Under the PIA 2021: Distilling Realities From Legal Rhetoric
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66502/v9speh78Keywords:
Autonomy, Constitution, Judiciary, Justice, Separation of PowersAbstract
Controversy over the ownership, administration, and control of petroleum resources in Nigeria remains unresolved, particularly in light of the environmental degradation and social exclusion experienced by host communities in oil-producing regions. Although Nigerian law formally vests petroleum ownership in the Federal Government, persistent agitation in the Niger Delta suggests that this state-centric model has failed to secure legitimacy, equity, and stable petroleum governance. This article aims to examine the legal and theoretical foundations of petroleum ownership in Nigeria and to assess whether the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA) signals a meaningful shift from absolute state control toward a more inclusive governance model. Using doctrinal legal research and a comparative approach, the study analyses constitutional provisions, statutes, judicial decisions, international legal principles, and selected ownership models in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The study finds that the long-standing state ownership model in Nigeria has generated persistent conflict because it centralises legal control while excluding host communities from meaningful participation and benefit-sharing. It further finds that comparative practice in other jurisdictions demonstrates more flexible arrangements in the allocation of ownership rights, administrative authority, and resource benefits. The article’s novelty lies in its argument that the recognition of Host Communities under the PIA 2021 marks the emergence of a mixed or inclusive ownership logic within Nigeria’s petroleum governance framework, even though the constitutional language of federal ownership remains formally unchanged. The article concludes that sustainable petroleum governance in Nigeria requires a clearer legislative framework that consolidates host community participation, strengthens benefit-sharing arrangements, and aligns legal ownership with the practical realities of resource administration.
References
Amuda-Kannike, A., Agorodi, A. G. O. and Amuda-Kannike, Y., ‘Examining the Mutual Concepts of Judicial Fiscal Autonomy and Administration of Justice,’ Redeemers’ University of Nigeria Journal of Jurisprudence and International Law 3, no. 2 (2023): 266.
Andeanas and Fairgrieve (eds.), Independence, Accountability and the Judiciary (BIICL 2006) 49-50.
Bas. P., ‘Allocution de cloture,’ Revue francaise de finances publiques, 142 (2018), 164.
Bathurst, T. F., ‘Separation of Powers: Reality or Desirable Fiction?’ New South Wales Judicial Scholarship (2013): 39.
Bingham, T., The Business of Judging: Selected Essays and Speeches (Oxford University Press 2000).
Borokini, A. A., ‘The Doctrine of Separation of Powers and the 1999 Constitution,’ Journal of Private and Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ado-Ekiti 1, (2008):146-7.
Bunjevac, T., ‘Court Governance in Context: Beyond Independence,’ International Journal of Court Administration 4, no. 1 (2011): 35.
Chan, W. D. A., ‘Comparative Analysis of Judicial Independence in South Sudan and Indian’, SSRN (13 June, 2018). https://ssrn.com/abstract=3195316
Chief Justice King: ‘A Judiciary-Based State Administration – The South Australian Experience’, Journal of Judicial Administration 3, (1993):136.
Clerk, D., ‘The Struggle for Judicial Independence,’ Macquarie Law Journal 12 (2013):21.
Commonwealth of Nations, The Commonwealth Latimer House Principles Practitioner’s Handbook (Commonwealth Secretariat 2017). https://www.cpahq.org/media/dhfajkpg/commonwealth-latimer-principles-web- version.pdf .
Denning, A. T., What Next in The Law (OUP Oxford 1982).
Dijk, F. V. and Langbroek, P., ‘Reaction on the Comments on the ENCJ Study on Methods for Assessment of Judicial Independence and Accountability’, International Journal for Court Administration 9, no. 3 (2018), 76-78. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijca.283
Dijk, F. V. and Vos, G., ‘A Method of Assessment of the Independence and Accountability of the Judiciary’, International Journal for Court Administration 9, no. 3 (2018), 1- 21. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijca.276
Dodek, M., ‘Judicial Independence as A Public Policy Instrument,’ Comparative Research in Law and Political Economy Research Paper 5, no. 2 (2009):1-36.
Elias, T. O., The Nigerian Legal System (1963).
Enumah, A., ‘Body of SANS Lament Executive, Politicians Interference with Appointment of Judges: NBA Seeks Full Financial Autonomy for Judiciary,’ Thisday Newspaper (Lagos, 5 October 2020). https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/10/05/body- of-sans-laments-executive-politicians-interference-with-appointment-of-judges/.
Ewing, K. D., ‘A Theory of Democratic Adjudication: Towards A Representative, Accountable and Independence Judiciary’, Alberta Law Review 38, (2000):708.
Expert-Foulquier, C., ‘The Financial Independence of the Judiciary in France’, International Journal for Court Administration 11, no. 1 (2020), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.36745/ijca.300
Gleeson, J., ‘Advancing Judicial Legitimacy: The Stakes and the Means’, The Judicial Review 15, no. 1 (2023), 1.
Guobadia, A., ‘The Relationship Between the Judiciary and the Political Branches, Judicial – Executive Relations in Nigeria’s Constitutional Development: Clear Patterns or Confusing Signals?’ In: C. M. Fombad, Separation of Powers in African Constitutionalism (Oxford Constitution of the World [OCW] 2016).
Hamilton, A., The Federalist Papers, No. 78.
John, J. A., The Works of John Adams (Vol. 3, Little and Brown 1851).
Ikongbeh, J., ‘Separation of Powers Under the Constitution of Nigeria 1999: A Critical Review of Its Application since 29 May 1999’, Nigeria Law Journal 1, no. 1 (2003):92.
International Association of Judicial Independence and World Peace, Standards for Judicial Independence (Zurich 2018). https://www.jiwp.org.
Kalu, U. C., ‘Separation of Powers in Nigeria: An Anatomy of Power Convergences and Divergences,’ Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence 9, no. 1 (2018): 124.
Keilitz, I., ‘Viewing Judicial Independence and Accountability through the “Lens” of Performance Measurement and Management’, International Journal for Court Administration 9, no. 3 (2018), 23-36. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijca.280
Kingston, K. G., Enebeli, V. N. and Amadi, F. C., ‘Judicial Financial Autonomy and the Inherent Powers of the Executives in Nigeria: Lessons from Australia, Britain and Canada’, African Journal of Social Sciences (AJSS) 12, no. 1 (2022): 27.
Kosar, D. and Spac, S., ‘Conceptualization(s) of Judicial Independence and Judicial Accountability by the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back’, International Journal for Court Administration 9, no. 3 (2018), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.18352/ijca.284
Le Sueur, A., ‘Developing Mechanisms for Judicial Accountability in the UK,’ Legal Studies 24, (2004):73.
Locke, J., ‘Second Treaties on Civil Government.’ In E. C. S. Wade and G. G. Philips, Constitutional and Administrative Law (9th edn, Longman 1977).
Mack, K. and Anleu, S. R., ‘Managing Judicial Performance: The Changing Ethical Infrastructure’, Australian Law Journal 97, (2023): 664.
Mehmood, S., ‘Judicial Independence and Development: Evidence from Pakistan,’ Aix- Marseille School of Economics [amse] (2020). https://www.amse-aixmarseille.
Montesquieu, B. D., ’Espitdes des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) Chapter Xi.
Mrabure, K. O. and Awhefeada, U. V., ‘Onnoghen’s CJN Conundrum, Exercise of the Executive Powers of the President and the Practice of Separation of Powers in Nigeria,’ Commonwealth Law Bulletin 46, no. 3 (2020): 1-21.
Ng, G. Y., ‘A Discipline of Judicial Governance?’ Utrecht Law Review 7, no. 1 (2011):102.
Nwosu, U. W., ‘Separation of Powers and the Constitution Basis of the Court of Appeal Judgment in Hon. Justice Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria – A Critique’, International Journal of Public Administration and Management Research 5, no. 1 (2019):28.
Ojo, A., ‘Separation of Powers in a Presidential System of Government’ Public Law Journal (1981)105.
Okaisabor, J. O., ‘The Quest of Fiscal Autonomy for Judicial Independence: The Case of the Nigerian Judiciary and Its Challenges’, African Identities 23, no. 3 (2025), 756-780. https://doi.org/10.1080/14725843.2024.2349613
Okoye, A. O., Law in Practice in Nigeria: Professional Responsibilities and Lawyering Skills (Snaap Press Nigeria Limited 2011).
Oniha, M. O. and Oniha, B. E., ‘A Critique of the Judiciary Financial Autonomy and Fund Management: Delta State Judiciary in Focus’, DELSU Law Review 9, no.1 (2023): 95.
Oraegbunam, I. K. E., ‘Separation of Powers and Nigerian Constitutional Democracy,’ Vanguard (Lagos, 19 January, 2005). https://www.vanguardngr.com.
Phillips, L., ‘Constitutional Reform: One Year On’ (A Paper Delivered at the Judicial Studies Board Annual Lecture on 22 March 2007 at London).
Philips, O. H., Leading Cases in Constitutional Law (Sweet & Maxwell 1957).
Rosselli, A., ‘Judicial Independence and the Budget: A Taxonomy of Judicial Budgeting Mechanisms,’ Indiana University Maurer School of Law 5, no. 1 (2020). https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijcd/vol5/iss1/2
Shetreet, S., ‘Fundamental Values of the Justice System,’ The European Business Law Review 23, (2012): 61–75.
Stevens, R., Law and Politics: The House of Lords as a Judicial Body, 1800 – 1976 (University of North Carolina Press 1978).
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, (9th edn, Clarendon 1995).
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), ‘Independent Judiciary Key to a Better Performing Judicial System.’ https://www.unodc.org/nigeria/en/indepedent- judiciary-key-to-a-better-performing-judicial-system.html.
Unknown Author, ‘An Overview: Judicial Independence, Expenditure and Financial Autonomy,’ African Law Practice [ALP] 1 (2022). https://www.alp.company.
Vanderbilt, A. T., The Challenges of Law Reform (Princeton University Press 1955).
Viapiana, F., ‘Funding the Judiciary: How Budgeting System Shapes Justice: A Comparative Analysis of Three Case Studies’, International Journal for Court Administration 9, no. 3 (2019). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331012
Vile, M. J. C., Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers (Clarendon 1967).
Whittington, K., ‘Legislative Sanctions and the Strategic Environment of Judicial Review,’ The International Journal of Constitutional Law 1, (2003):446-74.
Woodhouse, D., ‘The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 – Defending Judicial Independence the English Way,’ International Journal of Constitutional Law 5, 1 (2007): 153-65.
Woolf, L., ‘The Rule of Law and a Change in the Constitution,’ Cambridge Law Journal (2004): 317
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ugochukwu Godspower Ehirim (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
