Occupational Health and Safety Legislation, Regulation and Standards (Nigeria and international)
Domain scope
This domain tests how well you can identify the legal duties, enforcement bodies and standards that apply to a Nigerian workplace, and how international instruments interact with national law. Questions often ask which duty is statutory, which is voluntary, and who enforces it.
Core rules and concepts
- The Factories Act (Cap F1, LFN 2004) is the main OSH statute for factories; it imposes duties on occupiers regarding cleanliness, ventilation, lighting, overcrowding, machine guarding, dangerous substances and accident notification, and gives inspectors powers of entry and enforcement.
- The Employees' Compensation Act 2010 creates a no-fault compensation scheme for workplace injury, disability and death, funded by employer contributions; it is separate from Factories Act enforcement.
- The Labour Act (Cap L1) addresses employment terms, hours and categories of workers, not comprehensive OSH.
- Sector laws include the Minerals and Mining Act 2007, NESREA Act 2007, NOSDRA Act 2006 and nuclear safety legislation.
- International benchmarks include ILO C155 and C187, ISO 45001:2018, ISO 14001:2015 and GHS. These are not automatically Nigerian law unless adopted or contractually required.
Worked example
A factory has an unguarded press, no written safety policy and a worker loses five days after an injury. The occupier faces Factories Act duties on guarding and accident notification; the worker may claim under the ECA; an ISO 45001 certificate would not replace either duty. A safety practitioner should record the legal breach, notify the inspector as required and support the compensation claim.
Traps
Treating ISO certification as legal compliance; assuming the Factories Act covers every sector; forgetting ECA reporting; and using reasonably practicable as an excuse for no control.