Bonny Lawyers Demand Accountability Over Gas-Flare Penalties, Seek Federal Medical Centre for Kingdom

The Bonny Lawyers’ Forum has intensified calls for greater accountability in the application of gas-flaring penalties, demanding transparency over funds collected under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and their impact on communities affected by petroleum operations.

The Forum also wants the Federal Government to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny Kingdom, describing the proposed facility as a sustainable medical-relief intervention for communities that have hosted some of Nigeria’s most strategically important petroleum, gas-processing and export infrastructure.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, and signed by its Chairman, Victor Pepple, the Forum commended the Member of the House of Representatives representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency, Cyril Hart, for drawing public attention to the issue of the application of gas-flaring penalties for the benefit of affected host communities.

But beyond the political conversation, the lawyers said the matter raises fundamental questions of law, environmental justice, public accountability and the implementation of statutory obligations under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.

The question of where the penalties go

At the heart of the Forum’s intervention is the application of monies derived from gas-flaring penalties.

The lawyers specifically cited Sections 52(7)(d) and 104(4) of the Petroleum Industry Act, arguing that the statutory framework provides for environmental remediation and relief for affected host communities.

For Bonny Kingdom, the Forum says this provision deserves particular scrutiny given the scale and longevity of petroleum-sector activities in and around the area.

Bonny has long occupied a strategic position in Nigeria’s petroleum economy, hosting or being directly connected to major oil, gas-processing, liquefied natural gas, export and associated industrial operations involving major industry players.

The Kingdom’s petroleum infrastructure has also given it an important place in Nigeria’s export history, dating back to the commissioning of the country’s first crude oil export terminal in 1965.

Yet, the Forum argues, the economic importance of these operations must be considered alongside the environmental and human realities experienced by communities within the operational environment.

It cited concerns over gas flaring, pollution, environmental degradation, possible health impacts, inadequate infrastructure and the general welfare of host communities.

The lawyers therefore posed a central question: Where are the gas-flaring penalties applicable to petroleum operations affecting Bonny Kingdom, particularly since the commencement of the PIA in 2021, and how have funds collected under the statutory regime been applied to environmental remediation and host-community relief?

The Forum stressed that the question should not be interpreted as an allegation of wrongdoing against any company, government agency or individual.

Rather, it described the demand as a call for transparency, accountability and evidence of statutory compliance.

Why a Federal Medical Centre?

One of the most significant demands contained in the statement is for the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre in Bonny Kingdom.

The Forum wants the Federal Government to begin consultations with the Amanyanabo-in-Council and other traditional institutions, Bonny Local Government Council, petroleum-sector stakeholders and other relevant interests towards establishing the facility.

It further appealed to President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Bonny Federal Medical Centre Bill, which the Forum said has been awaiting presidential assent, and to ensure its implementation upon enactment.

The lawyers argue that the proposal should not be viewed as simply another infrastructure project.

Rather, they see a Federal Medical Centre as a potentially enduring intervention capable of addressing the healthcare needs of a population living within a major petroleum-producing, gas-processing and industrial environment.

Among the services proposed are specialist and tertiary healthcare, emergency medical services, maternal and child healthcare, modern diagnostic and laboratory services, respiratory and environmental-health services, cancer screening, occupational and environmental medicine, epidemiological surveillance and research into possible health consequences associated with prolonged exposure to petroleum-industry activities.

According to the Forum, such a facility could become a lasting investment in the health and welfare of Bonny and its surrounding host communities.

Relief must be visible and measurable

The Forum acknowledges that the PIA does not expressly prescribe the construction of a Federal Medical Centre as the exclusive form of host-community relief.

Its argument, however, is that the broader statutory objective must produce tangible results.

The lawyers contend that where legislation provides for environmental remediation and relief of affected host communities, government and regulatory institutions should be able to demonstrate how that relief is being delivered.

The proposed medical centre, they said, should therefore be considered as **one substantial and sustainable mechanism** through which the medical-relief component of host-community intervention could be advanced.

Beyond oil companies: an environmental justice question

The Bonny Lawyers’ Forum is careful to frame the issue as one extending beyond a dispute between host communities and petroleum operators.

The Forum describes it as a broader question of environmental justice, accountability and the rule of law.

Its position is that while the petroleum industry remains indispensable to Nigeria’s economy, communities that host critical petroleum infrastructure should not be regarded merely as locations from which natural resources are extracted.

They are, the Forum maintains, Nigerian communities entitled to the protection and benefits of Nigerian law.

The lawyers argue that Parliament’s creation of statutory mechanisms for environmental remediation and host-community relief carries an obligation to ensure those mechanisms work in practice.

Regulators asked to open the books

The Forum has called on the Federal Government, Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) and other relevant authorities to provide a transparent account of the implementation of the PIA provisions relating to gas-flaring penalties, environmental remediation and host-community relief.

It wants clarity on the applicable penalties, monies collected and how such funds have been deployed for their statutory purposes.

The Forum also announced plans to undertake further legal and factual examination of the relevant framework, including issues surrounding gas flaring, gas-flaring penalties, the MDGIF, environmental remediation, carbon finance, carbon credits and host-community relief.

It said it would engage relevant authorities and stakeholders to obtain information needed to determine the extent to which the applicable provisions have been implemented in relation to Bonny Kingdom.

Where necessary, the lawyers said, the Forum would consider lawful avenues available to secure compliance with applicable statutory obligations.

A demand shaped by Bonny’s economic contribution

The intervention comes against the backdrop of Bonny’s longstanding contribution to Nigeria’s petroleum economy.

From its historic role in crude oil exports to its present connection with major oil, gas, LNG and maritime activities, Bonny has remained strategically important to Nigeria’s economic architecture.

The Forum’s argument is therefore built around a balance: if communities bear the environmental and social consequences associated with hosting critical national economic assets, statutory mechanisms created to provide remediation and relief must produce benefits that can be seen and measured within those communities.

For the Bonny Lawyers’ Forum, the proposed Federal Medical Centre represents one possible expression of that principle—particularly in healthcare, where the effects of industrial activity may be difficult to address through short-term interventions alone.

The Forum consequently called for the immediate commencement of a transparent, inclusive and lawful process towards the effective application of gas-flaring penalties and other statutory interventions for affected host communities.

It maintained that Bonny Kingdom’s substantial contribution to Nigeria’s economic development makes the demand for effective environmental remediation, accountability and meaningful host-community relief neither unreasonable nor unjust.

The larger question now is whether the statutory promise of environmental remediation and host-community relief can be translated from provisions in the law into tangible improvements in the lives of the people living alongside Nigeria’s strategic petroleum assets.