Access to courts constitutes a key test of the quality of a legal system. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies on access problems in developing countries. This article identifies the main problems of access to courts in Nigeria on the basis of a survey of 154 Nigerian legal practitioners, an analysis of Nigerian court cases and two field trips to Nigeria. It focuses on one specific type of litigation: litigation related to the Nigerian crude oil industry. The survey results suggest that the main constraints of access to courts in Nigeria are financial problems as well as the lack of education and information of potential litigants, which falls in line with the results of other empirical studies in developed countries.