ANTI-TORTURE ACT, 2017
ACT No. 21
An Act to Penalise the Acts of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Prescribe Penalties for such Acts; and for Related Matters
Enacted by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria—
Duty of Government. 1. The Government shall—
- (a) ensure that the rights of all persons, including suspects, detainees and prisoners are respected at all times and that no person placed under investigation or held in custody of any person in authority shall be subjected to physical harm, force, violence, threat or intimidation or any act that impairs his free will; and
- Act No. 23, 1999(b) fully adhere to the principles and standards on the absolute condemnation and prohibition of torture set by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and various international instruments to which Nigeria is a State party.
Acts of Torture. 2.—(1) Torture is deemed committed when an act by which pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person to—
- (a) obtain information or a confession from him or a third person;
- (b) punish him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed; or
- (c) intimidate or coerce him or a third person for any reason based on discrimination of any kind.
when such pain or suffering is inflicted by oral the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity provided that it does not include pain or suffering in compliance with lawful sanctions.
(2) For the purpose of this Act, torture includes—
- (a) physical torture, which refers to such cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment which causes pain, exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body, such as—
- (i) systematic beatings, head-bangings, punching, kicking, striking with rifle butts and jumping on the stomach,
- (ii) food deprivation or forcible feeding with spoiled food, animal or human excreta or other food not normally eaten,
