Abstract
The intensification of global trade has increasingly positioned international trade law as a key
instrument of environmental governance, extending its traditional commercial function to
promote sustainability. This article critically examines the legal impact of international trade
policies on sustainable environmental governance in Nigeria, whose economy remains heavily
dependent on crude oil exports and other primary commodities. Adopting a doctrinal and
comparative legal methodology, this evaluation assesses Nigeria's constitutional, statutory,
and institutional frameworks in conjunction with multilateral trade agreements, regional trade
instruments, and international environmental treaties, drawing comparative insights from the
United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa. The article argues that although Nigeria
possesses an extensive legal and institutional framework for environmentally sustainable
trade, its effectiveness is undermined by the non-justiciability of environmental obligations
under Chapter II of the Constitution, weak regulatory enforcement, institutional fragmentation,
and dependence on environmentally intensive exports. It further contends that legal
scholarship has largely treated trade liberalisation and environmental protection as separate
fields, overlooking the dual role of international trade law in both facilitating and constraining
domestic environmental governance. Through doctrinal analysis of legislation, case law, and
treaty provisions, supported by comparative institutional evaluation, the article demonstrates
that Nigeria's principal challenge lies not in the absence of legal norms but in deficiencies in
implementation and enforcement. It recommends constitutional recognition of enforceable
environmental rights, integration of sustainability standards into trade and investment
legislation, and strengthened regulatory institutions to align Nigeria's trade regime with
evolving global environmental governance and sustainability requirements.