Social Inequalities in Occupational Injury Compensation Access Among Nigerian Informal Workers: A Mixed-Methods Policy Analysis

Access to occupational injury compensation through Nigeria's Employee Compensation Act of 2010 and the NSITF remains profoundly inequitable, with informal sector workers facing systematic exclusion that perpetuates cycles of poverty and health vulnerability. This doctoral mixed-methods policy analysis investigated social inequalities in occupational injury compensation access among informal workers across Nigeria. A nationally representative household survey of 2,800 injured workers was conducted across six geopolitical zones using stratified cluster sampling, measuring compensation awareness, application behavior, outcomes, and barriers. The survey was complemented by 45 qualitative interviews with injured workers, NSITF officials, labor lawyers, and civil society representatives, and documentary analysis of NSITF administrative data and court records from 2012 to 2023. Compensation access rate among informal workers was only 3.7 percent compared to 68.4 percent among formal workers with equivalent injuries. Social inequalities in access were significantly structured by employment formality, gender, literacy, geographic remoteness, and ethnicity. Intersectionality analysis demonstrated that informal female workers in northern Nigeria faced compounding barriers with near-zero compensation access. Legal barriers included definitional exclusion of informal workers from NSITF coverage, bureaucratic claim processes, and judiciary inaccessibility. The study generates original intersectional policy analysis evidence on compensation system failure and proposes a reformed inclusive compensation model drawing on comparative lessons from Ghana, South Africa, and Indonesia. Policy recommendations include NSITF mandate expansion, informal worker contributory insurance pilots, and legal aid services for injured workers. Keywords: occupational injury compensation, social inequality, informal workers, NSITF, policy analysis.