Africa
Nigeria.
Nigeria's Criminal Code creates duties to provide necessaries of life only for people who have charge of another person, not for strangers generally. The Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 requires every person to assist a gunshot victim in some ways; whether a general duty to help exists beyond it was not reviewed here. A federal national service scheme and a company-law route for registering charitable associations are also documented.
Is there a legal duty to help a stranger?
LimitedCriminal Code Act sections 300 to 302 impose duties to provide necessaries of life on persons having charge of another who cannot provide for themselves, heads of families (children under 14) and masters of servants under 16; these are not duties toward strangers. Section 2(1) of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 states that every person, including security agents, shall render every possible assistance to any person with gunshot wounds and ensure that the person is taken to the nearest hospital; its table of contents includes an offense of standing by, but that section's text was not read in this research.
Are people who help protected?
LimitedThe Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 has a section titled "Protection of volunteer" (table of contents), and a PLAC summary says the Act prevents volunteers who assist gunshot victims from being subjected to unnecessary interrogation; the section's own wording was not read. No Lagos State Good Samaritan law and no general road-accident bystander statute were found in this research.
How the government promotes giving and service
Ways to give and volunteer
Nigeria has many active community groups, and faith organizations run a lot of local aid, which are not listed here. Public records for charities are limited, so check a group's registration and ask for proof before giving.
Check a charity before you give
The government registry for companies and incorporated trustees, where you can check whether a nonprofit is legally registered (the search tool may block automated access).
Give your time
Give money, blood or a donation
In an emergency or a crisis
Before you act
- Advance-fee and fake charity appeals are common, so never pay a fee to receive money or to volunteer, and avoid wire or cash requests from strangers. Ask a group for its CAC registration number and confirm it. Foreign groups and funding fall under anti-money laundering rules and the SCUML requirements for nonprofits, so visitors should check the rules or work through a registered group.
This list does not cover every state or local group, or faith-based charities. Checked 2026-10-28. Listing an organization is not an endorsement, and none of them has endorsed this site. Some official sites block automatic checks, so a link may need a second try.
One thing worth knowing
Nigeria's strongest documented duty toward strangers is narrow: the 2017 gunshot Act extends the duty to assist to "every person" with respect to gunshot victims, while the Criminal Code duties apply only to people in charge of another.
What this does not mean
Criminal Code section numbers are from the Laws of the Federation copy (Cap. C38), and Lagos State has its own criminal law that was not reviewed, so a state-level duty or protection may exist that this guide did not find. The brief's Lagos Good Samaritan and road-traffic bystander protections, and National Health Act emergency treatment, could not be verified from the statute text. Sources are reputable reproductions, not government gazette sites. This is not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of public sources, not legal advice, and it does not rank countries. No government named here has endorsed this site. Not reviewed by a lawyer. Statutes were read in public sources and may have changed. Last checked October 26, 2026.