Pollution, toxic substances kill 9m people annually

Up to 9 million people die prematurely every year due to exposure to pollution and toxic substances, a report conducted by Global Rights and Coalition for Corporate Accountability and has revealed.

The Report titled Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence in Nigeria (HREDD Policy Brief) blamed the pollution on businesses operating coal fired power plants, mines, smelters, oil and gas operations, steel plants, garbage dumps, factory farms and aqua culture operations among others.

Abiodun Baiyewu, executive director of Global Rights stated this in her presentation at the One Day Capacity Building Session on the Policy Brief on HREDD in Nigeria which held in Abuja on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

She said “business host communities frequently experience a range of adverse effects from the operations of companies, including air and water pollution, inadequate safety standards, labour rights violations, land expropriation, gender discrimination and security breaches among others.”

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The Policy Brief noted that HREDD as proposed under the UNGP principle 17 says it is the duty of the state to protect citizens, the duties of corporate organisations to respect human and environmental rights and duty of the state to ensure communities and humans have access to justice in the case of abuses.

She said the framework holds the potential to boost National efforts to tackle the nots and risks of human and environmental abuses by company operations.

Presenting the conclusion and recommendations of the report, Baiyewu said in spite of extant laws and policies, especially the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights which features clear directions on human rights due diligence, businesses in Nigeria have to a large extent been allowed to operate in an irresponsible manner that fails to respect human and environmental rights.

The brief in their recommendations called for legal reforms, capacity building, multi-stakeholder collaborations, incentives for compliances and technology use

Ruth Tene Natsa

Ruth Tene, Assistant Editor, Agric/Solid Minerals/INEC Ruth Tene is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years experience in developmental reporting across several newsrooms, as a reporter, editor and other managerial roles. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from the University of Maiduguri among several other certifications She has attended several trainings and certifications both locally and internationally and has been recognized for her impactful work in humanitarian reporting, receiving the Gold Award for Humanitarian Services from the Amazing Grace Foundation. She is also a recipient of the Home Alliance Fellowship, reflecting her commitment to fostering a more humane, safer and more sustainable planet. An active member of professional journalism bodies, Ruth is affiliated with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), and the Agricultural Correspondents Association of Nigeria (ACAN), where she continues to advocate for excellence, ethical reporting, and development-focused journalism.