In order to boost environmental health and safety, the National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has asked lawyers to follow the guidelines and precepts that govern environmental laws in their work.
In a statement released by the agency’s chief information officer, Mrs. Amaka Ejiofor, the director-general of NESREA, Prof. Aliyu Jauro, made this declaration while hosting a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) team in Abuja.
The team from Gwagwalada Branch, paid the agency a courtesy visit to seek a strong collaboration with the NESREA on effective environmental law.
Jauro said that the dearth of environmental lawyers was a major setback in the war against environmental crimes in the country.
He said that lack of knowledge in the area of environmental law was a serious challenge, adding that many lawyers were not abreast with issues of the environment.
In his words, “even though we have a lot of legislative framework on environmental issues, many lawyers are not really taking environmental issues seriously.
He, however, implored the lawyers to use public interest litigation to develop, enrich and promote the agency’s jurisprudence.
The team was led by Emmanuel Ogunjide, Chairman of the NBA, who expressed his appreciation for Jauro and his management for the agency’s many accomplishments.