The national president of Nigeria’s Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Abdullahi Usman Aliyulistening attentively during a conference. Photo Courtesy: JONAPWD
2026 is shaping up to be an important year for inclusivity activism in Africa’s most populous country as a growing number among Nigeria’s 35 million disabled people step up to benefit from the recent gains made in the ongoing campaign for their rights.
By Joy Onuorah, bird story agency
19 January 2026
This year, the disability rights movement in Nigeria is on course to capitalize on decades of groundwork put forth by organizations and individuals. Conversations around inclusion and disability rights are making an impact in public policy, and the disability rights movement saw notable breakthroughs in 2025 and 2024.
Abdullahi Usman Aliyu, the national president of Nigeria’s Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), has spent years inside the heavy machinery of advocacy, public awareness, government engagement and cultural shifts. He admits that progress is slow. Yet, he believes Nigeria has entered a new phase.
In December, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) enacted a major push to enforce the full implementation of the 2023 Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act and the Persons with Disabilities (Accessibility) Regulations. The federal government of Nigeria ordered the enforcement of a 5% employment quota for persons with disabilities.
The directive was issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, at the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities Forum in Abuja on December 3, 2025. Additionally, the government inaugurated a National Forum of Heads of Disability Commissions and Agencies to coordinate disability inclusion policy across the country’s 36 states and federal ministries.
“Responses and attitudes of the general public are shifting towards a rights-based approach to disability inclusion rather than the previously known charity approach. Persons with disability are now considered members of society, and the level of disability discrimination is diminishing daily,” Aliyu told bird.
The victories can often be seen in buildings when ramps are constructed to enhance. The organization that Aliyu leads participated in such efforts. He told bird that one of the association’s biggest achievements so far in 2025 was helping people with disabilities to successfully secure job in all of Nigeria’s 36 states and in the Federal Capital Terrority. This move ensures that they are seen and not excluded from professional opportunities. He added that the association also developed a disability tracking tool that helps government ministries and agencies measure real inclusion instead of only talking about it.
Nigeria’s disability rights movement scored a major win in March 2024. A young man named Adebola Daniel was denied entry in a fast-food restaurant at the airport in Lagos when he strolled up in a wheelchair.
For Daniel, the incident was painful yet, familiar, leaving him feeling “less than human, like a guard dog not allowed into the house,” he said in a post on X. He alleged that the manager of the fast-food spot insisted that wheelchairs are not allowed, and ignored the interventions from his wife and brothers who were with him.
However, the public reaction to his social media posts were unprecedented. Within two days, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, which speedily undertook an investigation, shut down the fast-food outlet, demanded a written apology, and mandated non-discrimination policies as a condition for reopening. The restaurant released an apology directed to Daniel on X.
The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, signed into law on 23 January 2019 to protect the rights of Nigerians with disabilities, has been in place for years; yet for a long time, it felt like an instruction manual no one ever opened. A 2022 Agora Policy study found that more than 98 percent of public buildings across the country still failed basic accessibility standards. Many states sat outside compliance. The gap between legislation and lived experience was wide.
But the gap is narrowing. Across the country, small but meaningful shifts are unfolding. Advocacy by disability rights groups has pushed the aviation sector to introduce priority boarding and better mobility support for travellers with disabilities. Public agencies and private organisations have begun to take the five percent employment quota more seriously, opening doors that were once sealed shut. According to JONAPWD, mainstream organisations are now joining advocacy efforts to challenge damaging norms and rethink old beliefs about disability.
The National Commission for Persons with Disabilities has introduced the National Accessibility Compliance Certificate, a requirement that is transforming how banks, malls, schools, government offices and private establishments approach inclusion. Ramps must be built before the cement sets. Doors and office corridors must be widened. With support from groups like Sightsavers, the commission is conducting accessibility audits, training staff, and guiding new designs.
JONAPWD has played a central role in expanding these changes. Through a project supported by the Ford Foundation, the association has strengthened accessibility in public health facilities and educational institutions across three states, addressing spaces where people with disabilities often experience exclusion most acutely.
Following another initiative supported by Light for the World and the Mastercard Foundation, young Nigerians with disabilities have been integrated into private-sector workplaces with the reasonable accommodations they need to thrive.
Beyond policy, the movement has found strength in its growing younger generation. They come ready to learn, ready to lead, and ready to continue what older generations started. Their boldness is part of what keeps the movement alive.
Some universities and state governments are rethinking their infrastructure. Covenant University researchers have explored ways to make tall academic buildings safe and accessible for all students. In Kogi State, government-led and partner-supported accessibility assessments are guiding the redesign of public spaces.
In November 2025, the association released, “Disability Rights Movement in Nigeria: The Beginning, The Now, The Future.” Co-authored by Aliyu and other leaders, the book maps the long arc of the movement: the early struggles, the personal sacrifices, the institutional battles, and the victories that seemed impossible until they happened. It is a documentation of a nation’s awakening, intended to guide policymakers, researchers, activists, and citizens who want to understand how Nigeria can move from intention to transformation.
Further, a new bill (HB 1931) is under discussion which seeks to create reserved legislative seats for persons with disabilities at federal, state, and local levels which is a major shift toward political inclusion.
bird story agency