Is MDMA legal in Nigeria?

Also known as: molly, ecstasy

Legal status

Controlled. The Nigeria dossier places MDMA under sections 11, 20 and 52 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap N30 (the NDLEA Act), on the incorporated schedule entry «MDMA.», 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, also records that MDMA is not named on the face of sections 11 and 19, which name only cocaine, LSD and heroin and then extend to «any other similar drugs», that the NDLEA charges it through that limb, and that it is separately caught by section 20(1)(a), which transposes the 1961 and 1971 Conventions.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The ceiling the dossier records for MDMA 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 the bands by conduct on the similar drugs route: knowing possession is section 19, imprisonment for not less than fifteen years and not more than 25 years; section 11(d) sets the same fifteen to 25 year range for knowingly possessing or using the drug by smoking, inhaling or injecting; importing, manufacturing, producing, processing, planting or growing is section 11(a), exporting, transporting or otherwise trafficking is section 11(b), and selling or otherwise dealing is section 11(c), each carrying imprisonment for life. It also records a 2026 Federal High Court cannabis case in which the charge read «a narcotic drug similar to cocaine, LSD, heroin», laid contrary to section 21(2) and punishable under section 11(b). Section 21(2) deems a person who does the act, enables or aids another, or counsels or procures another to commit the offence, and section 21(3) makes that person liable to the principal offender's punishment.

If prescribed or medical

The dossier row this cell rests on does not state a prescription or medical route for MDMA.

Documentation

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

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.