Is Khat legal in Nigeria?

Legal status

Not separately listed. Khat, Catha edulis is not named in the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, LFN 2004, not named in its Second Schedule, and not named in the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019, which contains no schedule of substances at all. The plant is not in a 1961 or 1971 Convention schedule. The plant and its alkaloid are in different positions and this is the distinction that matters. Cathinone, khat's principal alkaloid, is a 1971 Convention Schedule I substance and is reached by section 20(1)(a) of the NDLEA Act. The khat leaf itself is not scheduled. A prosecution over fresh leaf would therefore have to argue the alkaloid content or the similar drugs limb.

Consequences if caught

Because it is not separately scheduled, there is no substance specific penalty to state. Any prosecution would have to run through the 'any other similar drugs' limb of sections 11 and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, LFN 2004, which is a question of fact and argument in each case rather than a settled classification, or through the medicines regime. Handling offences under the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019, regulation 14(1), carry for an individual a maximum of one year or a fine not exceeding N50,000 or both. The NDLEA Act prescribes no death penalty. Its maximum is imprisonment for life. This entry states the absence of a listing. It does not state that possession is lawful, and it should not be read as clearance.

If prescribed or medical

There is no registered medical use and therefore no prescription route.

Documentation

No document authorises import.

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.