Oil spill offenders face jail terms as Reps consider bill

File: House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has begun consideration of a bill seeking tougher penalties, including imprisonment, for oil spill violations, barely 24 hours after the Senate passed the legislation and transmitted it to the House for concurrence.

A source in the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly disclosed this exclusively to The PUNCH.

“The NOSDRA Establishment Act 2006 that you talked about has been transmitted to the House for concurrence,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the House has passed the bill for first reading, the initial stage of legislative consideration.

The legislation, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (Establishment) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the existing 2006 law establishing NOSDRA to strengthen its enforcement powers and introduce stiffer penalties for oil pollution.

The Senate passed the bill after adopting the report of its Committee on Environment, following concerns that existing penalties had failed to deter oil companies and other operators from violating environmental regulations.

Presenting the committee’s report, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment, Olubiyi Fadeyi, supported the proposed amendments, while the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, representing Borno North, highlighted the devastating effects of oil spills on oil-producing communities.

Monguno said persistent pollution had damaged the environment and destroyed livelihoods, particularly those of residents who depend on fishing and farming.

He argued that the existing fines were inadequate to deter offenders and called for tougher sanctions, including criminal liability for spills that damage the environment and deprive residents of their means of livelihood.

“The fines are not deterrent enough to deter offenders,” Monguno told the Senate.

The lawmakers subsequently dissolved into the Committee of the Whole to consider the bill clause by clause and approved all 12 clauses, including the short title, explanatory memorandum and long title.

The Senate later resumed plenary, read the bill for a third time and passed it.

The proposed amendment is expected to strengthen NOSDRA’s capacity to enforce environmental regulations and hold those responsible for oil spills accountable.

Oil pollution has remained a major environmental challenge in the Niger Delta, where repeated spills have contaminated land and waterways, undermining farming, fishing and other economic activities in affected communities.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended the Senate Committee on Environment for its work and congratulated NOSDRA on the additional enforcement powers envisaged under the legislation.

The bill must complete the required legislative process, including concurrence by the House of Representatives, before it can be presented to the President for assent.