Who owns Nigeria’s offshore oil wealth: the states along the coastline or the federation itself? This #Casefiles entry examines Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & 35 Ors. (2002), the landmark Supreme Court decision that reshaped derivation, resource control, and fiscal federalism in Nigeria.

A meeting with a woman from Nigeria’s Niger Delta becomes the starting point for a deeper examination of gas flaring, environmental harm, and the communities forced to live beneath flames that never go out. This essay explores the human cost of energy production and the gap between legal frameworks and lived realities.