When natural gas is brought to the surface but can't be used right away, it's "flamed," which means it's burned for disposal. Flaring is most common when gas is produced as a byproduct of oil extraction. It is simply burned off if there is no infrastructure to put this "associated gas" to profitable use. Because of dysfunctional pricing and other institutional challenges in both the electricity and natural gas markets, Nigeria's domestic gas industry is underdeveloped. Oil sales provide for the majority of government revenue, and many of Nigeria's oil resources also contain associated gas. The only way to make a flaring ban stick would be to close down these fields and take away their income. Flaring will continue until a viable outlet for the related gas is found, as the government requires the revenue.
