Wednesday, November 26, 2025 - The President of National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip, has raised concerns over observed lacuna in the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports ECA empowers the
Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), to compensate injured workers,
support families of deceased employees and rehabilitate accident victims.
Speaking at NSITF engagement with legal stakeholders in
Abuja on Monday, Kanyip raised the concerns over the provisions of Section 33
of the ECA on employers who fail to remit contributions of their employees.
According to the Justice, it remains unclear whether
affected workers can sue such employers for statutory negligence.
Kanyip noted that workplace injuries are now common, adding
that Nigeria is obligated under ILO conventions to prevent and compensate for
such incidents.
According to him, Nigeria ratified key ILO conventions on
occupational safety in 1994 and 2022.
The Justice warned that failure to compensate all victims of
workplace injuries undermines Nigeria’s commitments under the conventions.
He said national policy clearly states that occupational
safety protections apply to all workers in both formal and informal sectors
Kanyip thanked NSITF for initiating the engagement,
organised to discuss improving the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS).
Earlier, the Managing Director of NSITF, Mr Oluwaseun
Faleye, said workplace safety and social protection are foundational to
national development.
According to him, workplace safety and social
protection strengthen economic productivity, human dignity and national
stability.
He added that protecting workers, guarantees prosperity for
employers and safeguards the nation’s future.
Faleye said the conference theme aligns with efforts to
strengthen legal frameworks that ensure social insurance for workers facing
injuries, diseases or death on duty.
He added that prevention of workplace hazards remains a
central mandate of the Fund.
According to him, in the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) data, there are over 2.8 million workers who die annually from workplace
accidents while 374 million sustain non-fatal injuries.
He said Nigeria’s challenges are worsened by lack of proper
data, high-risk sectors and weak adherence to safety rules.
Faleye explained that the ECA has improved the
administration of compensation but requires updates to address emerging
realities.
He urged the judges and the legal stakeholders to treat
social protection as a right and avoid technical barriers in interpreting the
law.
0 Comments