Theological Foundations of Land Rights and Environmental Justice in the Oil-Producing Communities of Ondo State

This doctoral study develops an original theological framework for land rights and environmental justice grounded in the specific context of oil-producing communities in Ondo State, South West Nigeria, particularly the Ilaje and Ese-Odo communities of the offshore and coastal Bitumen Belt. These communities face severe environmental degradation, land dispossession, and livelihood destruction arising from petroleum and bitumen extraction activities, yet systematic theological engagement with their plight from a Nigerian contextual perspective is absent from the literature. Drawing on creation theology, liberation theology, indigenous ecological knowledge, African land theology, and environmental justice theory, the study employs a participatory action research methodology that engages 40 community members, 15 traditional rulers, 12 church leaders, and 8 environmental lawyers in collaborative theological reflection. The study critically evaluates existing legal and policy frameworks governing resource extraction in Ondo and develops normative theological criteria for land rights policy, corporate accountability, and community environmental governance. An original ecological justice theology for oil-affected communities is proposed that integrates biblical creation stewardship with Ilaje cosmological relationships to the sea and land. The study makes original contributions to African ecology theology, public law, and missiology in extractive contexts. Keywords: environmental justice, land rights, oil communities, Ondo State, ecological theology