Is Codeine legal in Nigeria?

Legal status

Controlled. The Nigeria dossier places codeine under sections 11, 20 and 52 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30 (the NDLEA Act), on the incorporated schedule entry «Codeine.», and states that section 52 defines the controlled class by the 1961 or 1971 Convention schedules. The dossier does not say which of the two Conventions or which of their schedules prints the entry, and it does not name the edition of the schedules it read; it records the entry as checked on 20 September 2026 against the INCB list cited in source_url. The previous cell for this substance, sourced as listed in source_url, records that codeine is a controlled medicine within regulation 15 of the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019, and that in May 2018 NAFDAC stated «an embargo has been placed on new applications for permit or renewals for the importation of codeine as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations, i.e. NAFDAC will not issue any permit until further notice», together with «All production of codeine syrup should be stopped immediately until further notice». Those measures were expressed as lasting until further notice and were not re-read in this pass.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The ceiling the dossier records for codeine is imprisonment for life: it states that sections 11(a) to (c) and 20(2)(a) of the Act prescribe life imprisonment for the specified production, trafficking or dealing conduct, that no quantity threshold is stated, and that the words «shall» and «be imprisonment for life» make the life term mandatory on the section's face. The previous cell for this substance, sourced as listed in source_url, records that handling and supply offences under regulation 14(1) of the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019 carry for an individual imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding N50,000 or both, and for a body corporate a fine not exceeding N100,000, and that the Dangerous Drugs Act, Cap D1 LFN 2004 excepts codeine at section 8(1)(h) and allows Part III to be applied to it by order under section 9(4). It also records that sale of codeine containing cough syrup without a prescription was prohibited, and that three manufacturers were shut down in May 2018 before the shutdown was lifted with sanctions attached, including a recall of all codeine products. The Dangerous Drugs Act and its Part III are not printed in the quotation the dossier row carries; they come from the previous cell. The dossier's life term and that medicines regime are two different regimes; which one a case is charged under decides the exposure.

If prescribed or medical

Lawful on prescription. Codeine containing products have required a prescription since 2012, and the 2018 measures reinforced that rather than creating it. The Minister directed that codeine in cough preparations be replaced with dextromethorphan. Carried forward from the previous cell, not re-read in this pass.

Documentation

The dossier row this cell rests on does not state a traveller documentation rule for codeine.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Nigeria’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.