By Edu Abade
Award winning environmentalist and climate crusader, Barrister Chima Williams, has instituted a prize for the spirit of advocacy at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (LASU), insisting that recognising the work of environmental human rights defenders also requires support either morally or otherwise.
This was disclosed at the main campus of LASU in Ojo during the EcoJuris Competition organized by the Gani Fawehinmi Students Chamber of the institution, which brought together aspiring lawyers and students to engage in intellectually rigorous debates on pressing constitutional and environmental issues.
Citing the struggles of the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi who exemplified an uncompromising force against anti-democratic elements by his actions especially during the General Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha junta, which were known for their repressive decrees, Williams explained that he personally learnt a lot from Fawehinmi’s struggles, which he said, helped to form the fires of his advocacy against corporate powers devastating the Nigerian environment.
“But Chief Gani Fawehinmi was not the only one in the limelight at the time.
There were others like the late Chima Ubani, a vibrant leader of the pro-democracy movement in Nigeria and a former Amnesty International (AI) prisoner of conscience and the late Prof. Festus Iyayi of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), who died in mysterious circumstances, while on a crusade against injustice in the country,” he stated.
Williams, who is Executive Director, Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN), recalled that he led the team that took Shell to court in The Hague for despoliation of the environment in some Niger Delta communities, especially Ikot Ada Udo in Akwa Ibom State, as well as Goi and Bodo in Rivers State.
“It was not an easy task. For nearly 18 years, my colleagues and I worked tirelessly with the communities to document Shell’s atrocities in relation to their environment.
We had near death brushes with militants and risked our lives many times to obtain credible information that was useful in the courts. Finally we won and the affected communities got justice,” he said.
He further explained that their work in the
affected communities was one of the reasons he was awarded the Goldman Prize (the environment category) in Africa in 2022, adding: “But beyond prizes, it is not only these three communities that suffer from the extractive companies. Similar situations are playing out across the Niger Delta and in mining communities of Nasarawa, Kogi, Zamfara in the north and across the country.
“These activities are enabled by big companies that exploit our resources with reckless abandon and believe they do not owe the people and environment anything. These things are going on with the connivance of people in high places and foreigners and need to be checked.
“Although we have done work strenuously in the last three or more decades, to save our environment and people, the younger generation must now be involved. You are the heroes of now and the future waiting to be drawn into the battle of saving our nation.”
He pointed out that the prize is a modest effort to support young activists who use their talent and time to support meaningful and challenging situations in their communities and a way of giving back to the society, which gave him the opportunity to play a key role in saving impacted communities.
Williams, who recalled that he founded the first Students Environmental Justice Movement in Africa in 1998 that spread to over 86 campuses in Nigeria at its peak between 1999 and 2000, now has about four chapters in UniBen, Delta State University (DELSU) and others, said the movement is a platform to catch young Nigerian advocates and mentor them to form their environmental justice instincts and contribute their quota to national development.
Presenting the report of the Ecojuris Competition, Managing Partner, Gani Fawahinmi Students Chamber, Ayomide O. Dacosta, explained that the contest featured 24 Counsel, grouped into various teams, who argued complex legal issues including locus standi and the justiciability of Chapter Two of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
Its format saw simultaneous court sessions during the morning phase, followed by a final court session in the afternoon, giving all participants an equal platform to demonstrate their advocacy skills.
It also featured representatives from the firm of Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, who lent further prestige to the proceedings and judges who presided over the sessions, whose contributions ensured a fair, professional and enriching experience for all participants.
Dacosta stated that the EcoJuris Moot Competition not only highlighted the depth of talent within the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chamber, but also reinforced the importance of environmental and constitutional law discourse in the Nigerian legal landscape.
The Verdict Crew comprised T.S. Oyegbemile, F.O. Roshulu, S.O. Shittu, R.P. Olofin, I.Z. Ijelu, E.O. Momoh, C.F. Mbaoji and A.T. Bolomope, who argued their case vigorously and passionately.
Appellants for the Curia Counsel included Rasheed Mariam Owolabi, Nwaru-Patrick Treasure Ezinne, Olaiwon Habeebat Kehinde, Adele Amudalat Adejare, while the respondents included Babarinde Adewemimo, Akin-Bajomo Deborah Oluwabukunmi, Matthew Oluwabukunmi Sarah and Adebowale Oluwapamilerin Taofeeqoh.
The Law Alliance crew comprised E.O. Aina, M. Ikomi, A.O. Odumosu, A.A. Kuti, A.M. Wahab, O.S. Tologbomose, B.A. Haruna and M.O. Sanusi respectively.
