5. Actors of protection

Nigeria’s legal system is a mix of English common law, sharia law in northern states, and traditional law. Sharia courts are only located in the 12 northern states where sharia law is applied (Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara). In these 12 northern states the Sharia Penal Code is applied. Most southern states use the Criminal Code Act as their state law. The judiciary is formally independent, however political interference, corruption and lack of equipment and training remain key problems. Especially corruption is a serious problem in Nigeria’s justice system.

Federal state authorities are accused of disregarding due process. In some cases, people are detained without being informed of the charges against them or allowing them access to counsel. Those detained by the military under terrorism charges are not accorded the right to legal representation, due process, or to be heard by a judicial authority. Prolonged pretrial detention of suspects sometimes continues even after courts have ordered their release on bail. Additionally, some individuals whose cases are dismissed by the courts reportedly remain in detention without clear legal justification.

Sharia courts accord less weight to the testimony of women and non-Muslims. Gender inequality under sharia law impacts women’s rights and social status adversely.

The capacity of security forces—including the NPF, Department of State Services, NAF, and several other federal and state-level agencies—is significantly constrained. The police and military are overstretched by concurrent threats, such as insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, secessionist violence in the South-East, and criminality in the Niger Delta. Security forces struggle with resource shortages, corruption, insufficient training, and limited operational reach. In many areas, gaps in state protection have led to the proliferation of vigilante groups and community-based defence organisations, which operate with varying degrees of state supervision. Their involvement sometimes contributes to human rights abuses, arbitrary detention, and excessive use of force. In November 2025, President Tinubu ordered the recruitment of 20 000 additional police officers to target armed groups.

Nigeria has established specialised institutions to address specific forms of crime, including the NAPTIP, which investigates human trafficking, child labour, and sexual exploitation. The national agency has taken many actions to improve the response to modern slavery in the past few years, but tends to operate more reactively than proactively, often waiting for complaints before acting. NAPTIP conducts investigations, rescues victims, and coordinates with law enforcement. However, its overall effectiveness is hampered by limited funding, insufficient staffing and capacity constraints, especially outside major urban centres. Fragmentation of efforts across stakeholders and corruption has hindered investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. These issues are further exacerbated by the reluctance of victims and their families to provide information about traffickers and their networks.