Is Modafinil legal in Nigeria?

Also known as: provigil

Legal status

Prescription medicine, not a scheduled narcotic. Modafinil is not separately listed under the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, LFN 2004 and it is not named in the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019, which contains no schedule of substances at all. It is not in a 1961 or 1971 Convention schedule, so the treaty route at section 20(1)(a) does not reach it. It is regulated as a registrable prescription medicine.

Consequences if caught

The hard drug penalties in sections 11 and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, LFN 2004 are not the applicable regime. What applies is the medicines regime. Dealing in an unregistered or improperly handled medicine is an offence under the NAFDAC Controlled Medicines Regulations 2019, regulation 14(1), which carries for an individual imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding N50,000 or both, and for a body corporate a fine not exceeding N100,000. The NDLEA Act prescribes no death penalty. Its maximum is imprisonment for life. There is no capital or life exposure on this route.

If prescribed or medical

Lawful with a prescription. Carry it with the dispensing label.

Documentation

Carry the prescription. A quantity beyond personal use invites a supply question under the medicines regime.

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.