Nigeria’s Disability Act Still not Implemented After Five Years

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A disabled man is sitting in a wheelchair. He holds his hands on the wheel. Nearby are his colleagues
A flyer showing people.

Five years after its enactment, Nigeria’s Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 also known as the Disability Act, remains largely unimplemented, leaving millions of Nigerians with disabilities without the support and protections intended by the law.

When the Act was signed into law in 2019, about 19 million persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria expected that their nightmare of discrimination and exclusion would be over. 

Those aware of what the act provided for were joyful. The act’s hopes and promises were that Nigeria would be a haven for PWDs.

However, five years later, the hopes and promises are still a lifetime away, and very little progress has been made.

Background

The journey of advocacy for disability rights in Nigeria started as far back as 1999. With persistent advocacy by disability rights organisations, civil rights groups, and individuals with disabilities, the Disability Act was eventually enacted in 2018 by the 8th Senate of Nigeria.

Subsequently, it was sent to the President for assent for the 4th time since 1999.

Persons with disabilities have been the object of human rights violations. From discrimination, stigma and violence, to lack of access to education, healthcare and housing, they faced inequality and exclusion.

However, when the Act was signed into law on January 23, 2019, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, it marked a major victory for everyone involved in the disability rights movement in Nigeria.

This is because the Act made provision for inclusivity and equal rights for persons living with disabilities in Nigeria.

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What the law says about persons with disabilities

The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, contains 58 sections that make provision for the following:

  1. The law forbids any form of discrimination against persons with disability. In cases where this law is violated by an individual or a corporate firm, such a person is required to pay a fine of N100,000 or be imprisoned for six months or both, and the firm is liable to a fine of one million naira.
  1. The law mandates the Federal Ministry of Information to ensure there are awareness programmes for the promotion of the rights, dignity, achievements and contributions of persons with disabilities.
  1. A person with a disability has the right to access the physical environment and buildings on an equal basis with others.
  1. Public buildings must be friendly to PWDs in the way they are constructed and aids such as lifts (where necessary), and ramps, among others should be provided.
  1. It makes provision for a five-year transitional period within which public buildings and structures are to be modified to be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs.
  1. Before constructing a public structure, its plans shall be inspected by relevant authorities to ensure that the plan conforms with the building code.
  1. A government body or agency responsible for approving building plans must not approve any public building plan that lacks accessibility facilities as required by the building code.
  1. An officer who approves a building plan that violates the building code commits an offence and, upon conviction, is liable to a fine of at least N1,000,000, two years’ imprisonment, or both.
  1. Sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and other public facilities must be accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, including wheelchair users and the visually impaired.
  1. If a person with a disability encounters an accessibility barrier to an environment they have the right or duty to access, they may notify the relevant authority. The authority is then obligated to take immediate action to remove the barrier. This does not affect the person’s right to seek legal redress.
  1. Government transport providers must provide lifts, ramps, and other accessibility aids for persons with disabilities, including wheelchair users, at vehicles, parks, and bus stops. Within five years of the Act’s commencement, public vehicles must have audible and visual displays of their destination. The same is true for airports and seaports nationwide.
  1. In all situations of risk, including violence, emergencies, and natural disasters, the government must ensure the safety and protection of persons with disabilities, recognising their unique vulnerability.
  1. Persons with disabilities shall receive priority in queues and, where possible, be attended to outside the queue. Violators of this provision face six months’ imprisonment, a N50,000 fine, or both.
  1. The Act prohibits discrimination in public transportation and requires service providers to accommodate physically, visually, and hearing impaired persons. This applies to seaports, railways, and airports.
  1. Persons with disability have rights and privileges to the right to free, non-discriminatory education up to secondary school, health care, priority in accommodation and emergencies.
  1.  All public organisations are to reserve at least five per cent of employment opportunities for PWDs.

Unimplemented Provisions

Unfortunately, as promising as the above provisions are, findings have shown there is no full implementation yet.

In a report by The Punch in August, most states in Nigeria are yet to domesticate the Act. Where it is domesticated, it is not fully implemented.

For instance in Lagos, findings have shown that there is no full implementation of disability laws in the state.

Despite the existing laws, discrimination and stigmatisation still persist in education and employment with many public buildings and pedestrian bridges still inaccessible to PWDs.

The same is true in places like Oyo, Ekiti and Osun where there is “discrimination by members of the public, physical abuse, discrimination at the workplace, victimization, harassment by a government official and social exclusion”, according to a study on Assessing the Challenges of Persons with Disabilities in Southwest  Nigeria. 

All of these contradict the provisions in the  Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act, 2018.

Challenges

According to the Keeping it Real (KIR) Foundation, the reason behind the lack of implementation is the underfunding of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) saddled with the responsibility to promote, protect and prioritise the rights of PWDs.

Also, the investigation reveals a lack of awareness and understanding of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act as a major challenge.

Furthermore, in a 2022 study, “a lack of political will, neglect of target beneficiaries, lack of funding, ethnicity, lack of need assessments, corruption, numerous points of agenda, inability to properly discover the problems, lack of continuity and political will and white elephant or impractical policy goals and internal altercations within the ranks and files of PWDs” are identified as challenges that hinder the implementation of the act in Nigeria.

Samuel Sodunke