th th 28. At the 27 Ordinary Session of the [African] Commission held in Algeria from 27 April to th 11 May 2000, the [African] Commission deferred further consideration of the case to the th 28 Ordinary Session. th 29. The above decision was communicated to the parties on 12 July 2000. th 30. At the 28 Ordinary Session of the [African] Commission held in Cotonou, Benin from th th 26 October to 6 November 2000, the [African] Commission deferred further consideration of the case to the next session. During that session, the Respondent State submitted a Note Verbale stating the actions taken by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect of all the communications filed against it, including the present one. In respect of the instant communication, the Note Verbale admitted the gravamen of the complaints but went on to state the remedial measures being taken by the new civilian administration and they included: • • • Establishing for the first time in the history of Nigeria, a Federal Ministry of Environment with adequate resources to address enviromental related issues prevalent in Nigeria and as a matter of priority in the Niger delta area; Enacting into law the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with adequate funding to address the environmental and social related problems of the Niger delta area and other oil producing areas of Nigeria; Inaugurating the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the issues of human rights violations. In addition, the representatives of the Ogoni people have submitted petitions to the Commission of Inquiry on these issues and these are presently being reviewed in Nigeria as a top priority matter. th 31. The above decision was communicated to the parties on 14 November 2000. th rd th 32. At the 29 Ordinary Session held in Tripoli, Libya from 23 April to 7 May 2001, the [African] Commission decided to defer the final consideration of the case to the next session to be held in Banjul, the Gambia in October 2001. th 33. The above decision was communicated to the parties on 6 June 2001. th th th 34. At it 30 session held in Banjul, the Gambia from 13 to 27 October 2001, the African Commission reached a decision on the merits of this communication. Law Admissibility 35. Article 56 of the African Charter governs admissibility. All of the conditions of this Article are met by the present communication. Only the exhaustion of local remedies requires close scrutiny. 36. Article 56(5) requires that local remedies, if any, be exhausted, unless these are unduly prolonged. 37. One purpose of the exhaustion of local remedies requirement is to give the domestic courts an opportunity to decide upon cases before they are brought to an international forum, thus avoiding contradictory judgements of law at the national and international levels. Where a right is not well provided for in domestic law such that no case is likely to be heard, potential conflict does not arise. Similarly, if the right is not well provided for, there cannot be effective remedies, or any remedies at all. 38. Another rationale for the exhaustion requirement is that a government should have notice of a human rights violation in order to have the opportunity to remedy such violation, before being called to account by an international tribunal. (See the Commission’s decision on Communications 25/89, 1 47/90, 56/91 and 100/93 World Organisation against Torture et al./Zaire: 53 )[sic] . The exhaustion of domestic remedies requirement should be properly understood as ensuring that the State concerned has ample opportunity to remedy the situation of which applicants complain. It is not necessary here to recount the international attention that Ogoniland has received to argue that the Nigerian government has had ample notice and, over the past several decades, more than sufficient opportunity to give domestic remedies.