Hasanuddin Law Review
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2, AUGUST 2019

Persons with Intellectual Disability and Access to Justice in Nigeria: Challenges and the Way Forward

Augustine Edobor Arimoro (University of Cape Town)



Article Info

Publish Date
14 Aug 2019

Abstract

Conservatively, there are approximately about two million persons in Nigeria who may be referred to as persons with intellectual disabilities. These persons suffer from several challenges ranging from economic to non-inclusion in the society. In the paper, the discussion focuses on persons with intellectual disabilities and the effective access to justice as a fundamental right. The paper finds that even though Nigeria has adopted and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not been proactive in supporting the persons with disabilities in the country to enjoy these rights. Furthermore, despite the provision in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to ensure freedom from discrimination, there is no direct effect on procedure to ensure that the rights of the disabled persons are protected. The paper proposes for a framework for the protection of the person with intellectual disability which includes legal protection, legal awareness, legal aid, adjudication and for civil society oversight of the access of persons with intellectual disabilities to justice.

Copyrights © 2019






Journal Info

Abbrev

halrev

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Hasanuddin Law Review (Hasanuddin Law Rev. - HALREV) is a peer-reviewed journal published by Faculty of Law, Hasanuddin University. HALREV published three times a year in April, August, and December. This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research ...