NigeriaNG

Article 33 — Right to life

Article
33
Chapter
CHAPTER IV — Fundamental Rights
Index row title
Right to life
Source document
nigerian constitution
Provision ID
117564f7-8ea7-4fe1-9223-68ece1484192

153 words

Verbatim text

(1) Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria. (2) A person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this section, if he dies as a result of the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably necessary - (a) for the defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property; (b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; or The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Updated with the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Alterations(c) for the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny.

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 33 of the Constitution of Nigeria.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER IV — Fundamental Rights”.
  • The row is titled “Right to life”.
  • The passage runs to about 153 words.
  • Read plainly, it mentions arrest and detention — it deals with arrest or detention, and the conditions attached to holding a person (the words used: “arrest”); it mentions property — it addresses property, possession, or taking property compulsorily (the words used: “property”); it mentions life — it states a right to life, or the limits on depriving someone of it (the words used: “right to life”).

This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

How to cite this

Constitution of Nigeria, article 33 (“Right to life”), Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/117564f7-8ea7-4fe1-9223-68ece1484192 (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/117564f7-8ea7-4fe1-9223-68ece1484192

Accessed 25 October 2026.

Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.

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