Abuja, Nov. 24, 2025 (NAN) The Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI), Nigeria, has launched a National Moot Trial Competition on Environmental Justice and Climate Impact Litigation (EJCIL).

The group said the launch of the competition was expedient with climate change worsening environmental challenges across Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition which was first of its kind had as its theme, “Historical Wrongs and Contemporary Remedies.”

NAN also reports that the competition was initiated by the International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and Just Transition in the Niger Delta (IWG).

Prof. Engobo Emeseh of Aberystwyth University, UK and a founding member of the IWG, called for urgent action to tackle Nigeria’s growing environmental and climate crisis.

She said that decades of oil pollution in the Niger Delta and Nigeria’s rising climate vulnerabilities—including severe flooding—have continued to deny communities access to justice. 

Emeseh said that one of the stark outcomes from the “Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission” report—and indeed the lived reality of decades of oil pollution in the Niger Delta was the lack of access to justice. 

She said the EJCIL mooting competition would help to cultivate the next generation of lawyers.

“This will be by equipping emerging advocates with the skills and confidence to see, name and challenge both historical and ongoing injustices against communities and the environment. 

“By empowering young people to engage critically with the realities of environmental and climate justice, it strengthens the IWG’s mission to secure fair and long-term justice and accountability for the Niger Delta and beyond.”

President of the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI) Nigeria, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu (SAN), highlighted the importance of practical legal education. 

According to him, the moot competition offers law students a unique chance to develop advocacy skills while tackling real-world environmental and climate challenges.

He described the EJCIL initiative as “timely, visionary and essential” for grooming lawyers equipped to drive justice and sustainability in Nigeria.

Dr Pedi Obani of the University of Bradford and Principal Investigator of GENCGOV emphasised the role of young people in shaping environmental governance. 

She said the competition helps students see the law not just as a tool for litigation but as a means of transformation, accountability and community-focused justice.

Earlier, NULAI Executive Director, Mrs Odi Lagi said that the competition was open to undergraduate law students across the country. 

She noted that it was designed to be inclusive and accessible to participants from all law faculties, regardless of curriculum differences.

According to her, the event comes at a critical time when environmental and human rights issues are becoming central to global justice efforts.

Key partners of the event include the Gender Inclusive Climate Change Governance Initiative (GENCGOV, UK), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA, Nigeria), NULAI Nigeria, University of Bradford (UK), Aberystwyth University (UK) and Leigh Day (UK