The Association of Lawyers with Disabilities in Nigeria (ALDIN) has condemned the increasing discrimination and exclusion meted on Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria.
The President of ALDIN, Mr. Daniel Onwe, who made this known in a statement in Enugu on Wednesday, attributed the unfortunate development to the failure of 26 states to domesticate the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibited) Act.
Onwe said that having the law in place would create an enabling environment for PWDs to be incorporated in normal daily living, thus reducing the discrimination.
According to him, the provision of legal framework for PWDs has since been the norm in other climes.
“The situation of persons with disabilities in Nigeria is a dire one. All kinds of barriers exist to exclude persons with disabilities from life mainstream.
“There is the need to ensure protection of persons with disabilities through the instrumentality of legislation.
“Furthermore, it was only in 2019 that a federal legislation was enacted for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
“This was in spite the fact that states such as Lagos, Plateau, Rivers, Anambra, Kano and some others in Nigeria have disability legislation even before the enactment of the Federal legislation,” the ALDIN President said.
Onwe said that enactment of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibited) Act was the answer to decades of clamouring for them to be given level playing ground in everything.
He urged states to domesticate the act, to ensure seamlessly implementation of the disability law in their domains, noting that only 10 states had promulgated the disability law.
The ALDIN president then encouraged other states to follow suit, as the association would not rest until all states in the have a law to protect their indigenes with disabilities. (NAN)
