Access to Justice for Persons Living with HIV in Nigeria: Legal Stigma, Discrimination, and Judicial Responses

Persons living with HIV in Nigeria face systemic legal discrimination in employment, healthcare, education, and family relations, exacerbated by social stigma and an inadequate anti-discrimination legal framework. The HIV and AIDS (Anti-Discrimination) Act 2014 represents the primary statutory instrument for protecting the rights of PLHIV, yet its implementation has been extensively criticised as inadequate relative to the scale of documented discrimination. This research conducts an analytical and empirical examination of access to justice for persons living with HIV in Nigeria, focusing on judicial responses to discrimination complaints across five geopolitical zones between 2015 and 2024. A mixed-methods methodology was employed, combining doctrinal analysis of the Anti-Discrimination Act with a structured survey administered to 200 PLHIV through HIV support organisations in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Benue, and Rivers States. Secondary sources include UNAIDS Nigeria stigma index reports, National Agency for the Control of AIDS publications, and disability and HIV law scholarship. The study develops an original analytical framework mapping the intersection between legal stigma and healthcare access denial for PLHIV in Nigeria. Findings reveal that judicial enforcement of the Anti-Discrimination Act is extremely rare, and most discrimination complaints are never formally reported due to fear of disclosure and distrust of formal institutions. The research contributes original empirical and doctrinal analysis and recommends legislative reform, legal aid provision, and judicial sensitisation as priority interventions. Keywords: HIV discrimination, access to justice, Anti-Discrimination Act, stigma, human rights.