Nigeria

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Mixed (common law, customary law, Sharia)Federal presidential republicReviewed· 2026-08-03

Capital: Abuja
Population: 223,800,000
Languages: English, Hausa
Currency: NGN

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Nigeria · Rights

Rights in Nigeria

What the atlas records on rights in Nigeria, checked against the primary sources cited below.

Rights

The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 created a statutory commission and replaced the 2019 regulation

Reviewed· 2026-08-03

The NDPA 2023 is Nigeria's first primary data protection statute, superseding the NDPR 2019 issued by NITDA. It establishes the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, requires a lawful basis for processing, mandates data protection officers for higher-risk controllers, and provides for sanctions calculated on gross annual revenue.

Key rules

Jurisdiction — Nigeria Data Protection Commission; enforcement orders reviewable in the Federal High Court.

Governing law

Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 — Creates the NDP Commission; registration for controllers of major importance; revenue-based penalties.
Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, 2019 — Predecessor NITDA instrument.

In practice

Before 2023 Nigerian data protection rested on the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019, a subsidiary instrument of NITDA whose legal foundation was contested. The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 puts the framework on a statutory footing and creates the Nigeria Data Protection Commission as an independent regulator with investigative and enforcement powers. It sets out lawful bases including consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests and legitimate interests; requires that consent be freely given, specific and revocable; and grants data subject rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and portability. Controllers of major importance must register with the Commission and appoint a data protection officer. Cross-border transfers require an adequate destination or an approved mechanism. Sanctions for data controllers of major importance can reach the greater of a fixed sum or 2% of gross annual revenue in the preceding year.

Sources

Rights

Federal supremacy under the 1999 Constitution, with twelve states applying Sharia penal codes

Reviewed· 2026-08-03

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is supreme; any inconsistent law is void to the extent of the inconsistency. Legislative power is split between the Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual lists. Chapter II socio-economic objectives are expressly non-justiciable, while Chapter IV fundamental rights are enforceable in the High Courts.

Key rules

Jurisdiction — Supreme Court of Nigeria has final appellate jurisdiction and exclusive original jurisdiction in federation/state disputes; Court of Appeal sits in divisions nationwide.

Governing law

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Cap C23 LFN 2004 — Fourth and Fifth Alteration Acts devolved railways and power generation and created financial autonomy for state legislatures and judiciaries.
Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 — Procedural regime for Chapter IV claims; relaxed locus standi compared with the 1979 Rules.

In practice

Nigeria's constitutional order is federal, presidential and unusually litigated. Section 1(3) makes the Constitution supreme. Section 4 divides competence: the National Assembly legislates on the Exclusive List, both tiers on the Concurrent List, and states hold the residue. Section 6(6)(c) renders the Chapter II Fundamental Objectives non-justiciable, a provision that has repeatedly defeated socio-economic claims, whereas Chapter IV rights are enforced through the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009. Section 275 authorises Sharia Courts of Appeal in states that want them, and from 2000 twelve northern states (Zamfara first, then Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Kaduna and Gombe) enacted Sharia Penal Codes. Their constitutionality has never been squarely resolved by the Supreme Court, which is the single most important caveat for any account of Nigerian criminal law.

Sources

Rights

Justiciable Chapter IV rights plus a directly applicable African Charter

Reviewed· 2026-08-03

Chapter IV of the Constitution guarantees civil and political rights enforceable in the High Courts. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights has been domesticated by statute and is directly applicable in Nigerian courts, which is how socio-economic claims blocked by s.6(6)(c) have sometimes been advanced.

Key rules

Jurisdiction — State and Federal High Courts; National Human Rights Commission; ECOWAS Community Court of Justice; African Commission and Court.

Governing law

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9 LFN 2004 — Domesticates the Charter; directly applicable in Nigerian courts.
National Human Rights Commission Act, 1995, amended 2010 — NHRC awards enforceable as High Court judgments.
Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 — Federal; requires state adoption to apply in the states.

In practice

Chapter IV covers life, dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life, conscience, expression, assembly, association, movement, freedom from discrimination and property. Enforcement is by the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, which liberalised standing so that public interest litigants may sue. The distinctive feature is the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which makes the Charter part of Nigerian law and therefore imports Charter economic and social rights that Chapter II excludes from justiciability — the route used in SERAP litigation and endorsed in the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, whose judgments against Nigeria on education and Niger Delta pollution are binding in international law though inconsistently implemented. The National Human Rights Commission Act 1995 as amended in 2010 gave the NHRC power to award compensation and to register its awards as High Court judgments. The death penalty remains lawful, and the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 criminalises same-sex relationships and support organisations, in tension with Charter obligations.

Sources

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