On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a historic advisory opinion affirming that countries have binding obligations under international law to address climate change. Environmental destruction that harms people’s lives, livelihoods, and rights, the Court proclaimed, could amount to a violation of international law—especially where vulnerable communities are affected.
This unprecedented ruling is a wake-up call for Nigeria.
From the devastating floods that inundate Bayelsa and other coastal states along the Niger and Benue rivers, to the steady advance of desertification in the Northwest and Northeast, Nigeria is already in the grip of a climate crisis. This crisis is perhaps most starkly reflected in the ongoing and often deadly southward movement of herders, commonly described as farmer-herder clashes, which has left a trail of violence and trauma across numerous communities.
For years, desertification and changing rainfall patterns have pushed herders southward in search of grazing land and water. In the absence of strong adaptation policies, this has led to violent clashes with farming communities, destroying lives and displacing millions. Entire villages in Benue, Plateau, and Taraba have been wiped out—not just by bullets, but by a failure to protect the environment.
The ICJ ruling is a game-changer and situates the issue as a legal one. Governments are duty-bound to act when environmental mismanagement leads to conflict, suffering, and death. Citizens have a right to be protected from the risks of environmental mismanagement.
What are the applicable provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended)? Sections 33 and 34 guarantee the right to life and dignity. Section 20 mandates the state to “protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air, land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria.”
The question Nigerians must now ask is: Has our government, as the duty bearer, fulfilled this duty?
If herders are forced to migrate, it creates conflict with sedentary communities due to poor management of the environment. If farmers are losing harvests due to heat and flooding. If families are displaced and made destitute because the climate is breaking down. Then we are facing a governance failure that may be unconstitutional and actionable.
The ICJ opinion marks a significant milestone for climate litigation globally. It provides a powerful legal basis that our lawyers, judges, and activists can now invoke to hold the government accountable -not only for its actions, but also for its inaction. This ruling reinforces the imperative that policies must align with principles, creating a critical opportunity to move beyond rhetoric and toward real, measurable progress on this vital issue.
It also strengthens Nigeria’s hand in international climate finance negotiations. With low historical emissions and high vulnerability, Nigeria should now press more forcefully for loss and damage funding, climate justice, and technology transfers, not as charity, but as a matter of global legal responsibility.
What must be done? A coordinated, timely, and mutually reinforcing strategy is needed across four key areas.
First, enforce Section 20 of the Constitution. Environmental protection is not a luxury but a legal duty. Let’s stop treating it like a footnote.
Second, integrate climate into security and agricultural planning. Solving the farmer-herder crisis requires water infrastructure, supporting the development of a modern approach to animal husbandry (ranching), and early-warning systems, not just troops or curfews.
Third, support climate-related court cases. Nigerian courts must begin to treat environmental harm as a rights issue, not just a regulatory one.
Fourth, invest in resilience. From Lagos to Maiduguri, we must design cities and farms for a hotter, wetter, and more unpredictable future.
The ICJ’s advisory opinion reminds us that climate justice is not just a global concern. It is a Nigerian emergency. The tools are already in our Constitution, our laws, and now, in international opinion. What we need is the political courage to act—and to do so now.
If we fail to act, we are not only failing our Constitution—we are failing ourselves and generations yet unborn.
About the Author:
Dr Martin Okey Ejidike, a United Nations expert in governance, human rights, and conflict prevention, focusing on early warning, atrocity prevention, and strengthening responses to identity-based violence and climate-related security risks, writes from New York.
