A Legal Analysis of the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Persons with disabilities are often discriminated against in society on the basis and/or grounds such as race, ethnicity, cultural beliefs, as well as religious beliefs. Moreover, there is a general negative societal attitude and a negative perception against persons with disabilities globally. For instance, persons with disabilities are negatively treated as a charitable problem of the society in many countries, including Nigeria. This approach could have deliberately or inadvertently led to the omission of the specific rights of persons with disabilities from the list of fundamental rights under the Nigerian Constitution, 1999. However, the recent enactment of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, could be a positive step in addressing numerous challenges such as poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and health care problems that are faced by persons with disabilities in Nigeria, especially in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Against this background, the article discusses the challenges that are encountered by persons with disabilities in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is undertaken to, inter alia, assess the adequacy of the legal and constitutional protection on the rights of persons with disabilities, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Moreover, the flaws and gaps in the current legal and constitutional regime for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Nigeria are discussed. Thereafter, possible recommendations to curb such flaws in Nigeria are provided.