UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 64) Section 42 of the Constitution guarantees and protects the rights of women from discrimination. Under section 46 (1) of the Constitution, women who are victims of violence and discrimination may apply to a High Court for redress by way of fundamental rights enforcement proceedings in the event of the application of any law that allows violence and discrimination against them. In addition, government enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.
Para 65) The Act seeks to eliminate violence in private and public life, prohibit all forms of violence including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic, harmful traditional practices, discriminations against persons and to provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders. Under the ACJA, women can now stand as sureties for any applicant or defendant for the purpose of admitting the person to bail. Hitherto this was not possible.

UN Compilation:
Para 8) Referring to the relevant recommendations from the previous review, the United Nations country team stated that Nigeria had given effect to some of its treaty obligations by adopting … the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015).
Para 12) CEDAW expressed concern that the prohibition of discrimination in section 42 of the Constitution did not comprise a comprehensive definition of discrimination in line with article 1 of the CEDAW.
Para 46) CEDAW was concerned that, under section 26 (2) (a) of the Constitution, Nigerian women married to foreign men could not transmit their nationality to their husbands, unlike Nigerian men married to foreign women. It was also concerned that section 29 (4) (b) on citizenship renunciation legitimized child marriage, as it recognized any woman who was married to be of full age for the purposes of renunciation of citizenship.
Para 47) CEDAW was concerned that while sections 218 and 357 of the Criminal Code protected girls under 13 years of age from forced sexual intercourse, section 6 excluded the applicability of those provisions to girls of the same age in customary law marriages.
Para 48) [CEDAW] was also concerned that no specific measures had been taken to eradicate polygamous relationships.
Para 49) [CEDAW] remained concerned about discriminatory provisions in the Labour Act (1990), the Factories Act (1987) and the Police Regulations (1968), which prohibited the employment of women in night work and the recruitment of married women to the police and required women police officers to make a written request for permission to marry.
Para 73) [CEDAW] was concerned that women owned less than 7.2 per cent of the total land mass in Nigeria and that their land rights in rural areas were not guaranteed.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 76) JS15 stated that Nigeria had failed to address traditional practices that had hampered gender equality. Discrimination started even before the birth of a girl. Education of boys had been prioritised over that of girls and girls were denied the right to inherit property.
Para 79) JS13 referred to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review and stated that although there had been enactment of progressive laws, harmful gender norms, cultural practices and discriminatory laws had persisted. In several communities, women had been barred from owning immovable property or from renting a house.

National Report:
Para 64) ... Government has taken necessary steps also to engage traditional and religious leaders on the importance of eradicating negative cultural practices from their communities.

Para 67) The National Orientation Agency organizes sensitization programmes for the public on the harmful effects of traditional practices against women, especially widows. Government will continue to intensify efforts to raise awareness as well as disseminate information on the value of human rights among traditional and religious leaders in order to curb negative traditional practices.