NOISE POLLUTION IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA: LEGAL REGULATION, PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS AND POLICY GAPS

Abstract

In Nigeria, noise pollution has emerged as one of the most prevalent and least controlled types of environmental damage. In contrast to oil spills, floods, fires, or smoke, noise frequently goes away as soon as law enforcement arrives, but its effects on the body persist, including disturbed sleep, anxiety, stress, poor concentration, hearing loss, hypertension, cardiovascular strain, and a slow decline in the livability of metropolitan areas. This paper examines noise pollution in Nigeria's urban environment through the linked lenses of legal regulation, public health and policy design. It argues that Nigeria does not suffer from a complete absence of law. The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency Act 2007, the National Environmental (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations 2009, state environmental laws, the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, common law nuisance and human rights principles together provide a substantial regulatory foundation. The deeper difficulty is that the framework is fragmented, unevenly enforced, weakly integrated with public health surveillance, and insufficiently connected with transport planning, building control, land use zoning, generator dependence and entertainment noise. A national noise policy, updated standards, city noise maps, regular decibel monitoring, integration of noise into environmental impact assessment and urban planning, stronger state and local enforcement, public health screening, safer nighttime rules, community mediation, responsible worship and entertainment protocols, and rights sensitive enforcement are some of the practical solutions that the paper suggests using legal analysis, public health literature, and specific Nigerian urban experience.