Volume: Volume 11(2) - 2007

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Durojaye, Ebenezer

Ebenezer Durojaye considers the judgment in the Nigerian case of Festus Odiafe and ors and the Attorney General and ors relating to prisoners' right of access to HIV treatment in Nigeria.

This was the first decided case dealing with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The author argues that, while the court was proactive in holding that failure by prison officials to provide treatment for the applicants who were HIV-positive was a violation of article 16 of the African Charter, the court failed to maintain the same momentum with regard to whether this act amounted to discrimination under Nigerian law. It is also argued that the failure of the court to explore international law standards and to consider decisions from other Commonwealth countries in arriving at its decision was a shortcoming on the part of the court.

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