Jurisdiction in International Law: Theorising Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of Nigerian Multinational Corporations

This dissertation theorises the extraterritorial human rights obligations of Nigerian multinational corporations operating in other African states, contributing an original jurisdictional framework to the field of business and human rights law. As Nigerian companies expand across Africa in financial services, construction, telecommunications, and food processing, they bring with them both economic opportunity and potential human rights risks for host communities in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda. The legal basis for extraterritorial corporate human rights obligations remains contested, with divergent views among the UN, regional human rights bodies, and domestic courts on whether home states can require their companies to respect human rights abroad. Drawing on jurisdictional theory in international law, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and comparative analysis of mandatory human rights due diligence legislation in France, Germany, and Norway, this research develops an original jurisdictional extension framework specifying the conditions under which Nigerian law could and should impose extraterritorial human rights obligations on Nigerian companies. It fills a gap in the business and human rights literature by centering a Southern multinational perspective, which is underrepresented compared with studies of Northern multinationals in the Global South. The dissertation applies the jurisdictional extension framework to Nigerian company operations in three African host states, developing illustrative legal arguments for extraterritorial liability. Original contributions include the jurisdictional extension framework, a Nigerian corporate human rights obligation index, and a model extraterritorial due diligence statute. Keywords: extraterritorial jurisdiction, business and human rights, UNGPs, Nigerian multinationals, Africa.