Nigeria — Legal Help

If detained, expect bail extortion despite 'bail is free' being official policy. Insist calmly on consular notification and a lawyer, sign nothing, and get private counsel — embassies in Abuja and consulates in Lagos hold lawyer lists and visit detainees but cannot extract you. Drug offences fall to the NDLEA and carry long sentences. The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2014 criminalizes same-sex relationships and even attendance at related gatherings with up to 14 years — beyond prosecution, it fuels an active extortion-and-entrapment industry on dating apps that targets foreigners; the risk calculus for LGBT travellers is severe.

The effective age of consent is 18 under the Child Rights Act 2003 (domesticated by most southern states) and the Sexual Offences Act 2015, and NAPTIP, the anti-trafficking agency, actively prosecutes cases involving minors. There is no lawful sex trade anywhere in the country, so no legal minimum age exists.