From left to right – Justice Niki Tobi, Justice Emeritus Chukwudifu Oputa and Serac’s Executive Director Felix Morka.
The Social and Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC) provides extensive and qualitative legal services to its target individuals and groups through its Legal Action Programme (LAP). By the instrument of LAP, SERAC provides free legal services to vulnerable groups, individuals and communities in order to defend their ESC rights. These free legal services include litigation, legal education, counseling, sensitization and legal research into ESC rights issues in Nigeria.
Specifically, under LAP, SERAC is presently litigating to assert the ESC rights of Nigerians particularly in the areas of right to housing, preventing forced eviction, right to health, right to a healthy environment and seeking remedies for violation of other ESC rights in Nigeria. It also helps to create awareness of the need for people to participate in the design and planning of developments that affect them. Cases SERAC are actively litigating includes the following:
(a) In FHC/L/CS/247/02 Ajanaku & ors Vs Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, SERAC instituted the case at the Federal High Court, on behalf of about 600 fishing Communities, whose land and water were polluted as a result of massive oil spillage caused when Mobil oil Producing, the defendant Multinational oil company operating in Nigeria, was transmitting oil from its production platform(offshore) to its terminal(onshore) through old and ruptured pipelines.
The suit is intended to compel Mobil to undertake post impact remediation measures in the affected communities as well as pay adequate compensation for the monumental damage caused to the communities by the said spillage.
In part, the suit is predicated on the African Charter on Human and People’s Right ratified and domesticated by Nigeria which guarantees the Plaintiffs the right to live in an environment favourable to their social and economic development.
The case was stalled as a result of an application for stay of proceedings filed by the defendant at the court of appeal. The court has dismissed the said application for stay and accused Mobil of using the application to waste the time of the trial court. Trial at the lower court has since resumed.
(b ) FHC/B/CS/78/2001 Hon Odhegolor & ors Vs Federal Ministry of Environment & ors. The main focus of the case, instituted at the Federal High Court, Benin by SERAC, is to protect the Erovie community, a local Community in Nigeria’s delta region, from the hazards associated with an alleged toxic waste dumped in the community and to enforce the community’s right to a healthy environment. The case was brought against Federal Ministry of Environment and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
The crux of the suit is that the Erovie Community alleged that SPDC, through its agent Dowell Schlumberger, undertook an underground injection of toxic waste in an abandoned oil well located in the community which has led to the pollution of the community’s environment and the underground water. Various laboratory tests suggest that the waste is toxic and harmful. SPDC, in its defence, stated that it did not inject the said waste into the abandoned oil well, neither did its agent. It stated that its agent was employed to undertake engineering services on the oil well. The suit seeks to compel SPDC to evacuate the alleged toxic waste, undertake remediation measures and to hold it accountable for the violation of the right to healthy environment.
Given SPDC’s denial of its agent’s complicity, the plaintiffs have successfully joined Dowell Schlumberger as a defendant in the case and the company has since entered appearance in the suit. The matter has been adjourned for trial.
(d) ID/1627/2000 Georgina Ahamefule Vs Dr Alex Molokwu & anor
This case was instituted to challenge HIV discrimination and to protect the plaintiff’s right to health. The plaintiff, an auxiliary nurse, was dismissed by her employer based on her HIV positive status. She was also denied medical treatment because of her HIV positive status. An aspect of the case, a court order denying her physical access to the court because of her HIV status, is already at the Nigerian Court of Appeal.
(e) FHC/L/CS/497/04 The Social and Economic Rights Action Center & ors Vs The Honourable Minister of Housing & Urban Development & ors. The instant case was filed in collaboration with the community leaders of the Gbagada Community in Kosofe Local government council of Lagos State. The land which is the subject of this suit was acquired by the Federal Government for the purpose of constructing Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. At the end of the construction, part of the land constituted a loop and a set back which was been used by the community for recreational, social and cultural activities.
However, contrary to the reason for acquiring the land, the Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development sold the land to private persons for commercial purposes and a certificate of Occupancy issued in that regard. The private persons have erected a communication mast on the land and are attempting to construct a mega filling station on the land despite the fact that a major water pipeline has a terminal point on the land with a complex network of distributive pipes. The case was instituted therefore to protect the land rights of the community as well as its right to healthy environment.
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