Country driving guide · 2026
Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Nigeria: 8 legal requirements + 8 other things worth knowing.
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Tick before you go
8 legal must-haves. Print it, tick them off, throw it in the glovebox.
1949 IDP required alongside UK/EU licence
Nigeria recognises the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit; carry it with your home licence and passport. After 90 days residents must obtain a Nigerian licence via the FRSC.
Third-party motor insurance is compulsory
A valid Nigerian third-party motor insurance certificate is mandatory and must be verifiable on the NIID database; foreign green cards are not accepted, so buy local cover (from around NGN 15,000 / EUR 9 per year for third party).
Vehicle papers for your own car
If bringing your own vehicle you need the V5C/registration, a Carnet de Passages en Douane (Nigeria is a CPD country), and proof of ownership; expect heavy customs scrutiny at land borders.
Drive on the right
Traffic drives on the right and overtakes on the left: the opposite of the UK and Ireland.
Speed limits 100 / 80 / 50 km/h
Expressway 100 km/h, rural/highway 80 km/h, built-up areas 50 km/h; FRSC speed cameras and roadblocks are common on the Lagos–Ibadan and Abuja–Kaduna expressways.
Zero-tolerance drink-drive limit in practice
Nigeria's BAC limit is 0.05 g/100 ml (0.5 g/L) but enforcement is erratic and penalties for any alcohol behind the wheel are severe: treat it as zero.
Seatbelts, no phones, no right-on-red
Seatbelts mandatory front and rear, handheld phone use is banned (NGN 4,000 fine), and there is no right-turn-on-red; helmets compulsory for motorcycle/okada riders and pillions.
C-caution triangle and fire extinguisher required
FRSC rules require two red warning triangles (C-caution signs), a serviceable fire extinguisher, a first-aid kit and a spare tyre in every vehicle; missing items draw on-the-spot fines.
The UK FCDO advises against all travel to several northern states (Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, parts of Kaduna, Zamfara) and against all but essential travel to many others due to terrorism, kidnapping and banditry: self-driving outside Lagos/Abuja is not realistic for most visitors.
Nigeria recognises the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit; carry it with your home licence and passport. After 90 days residents must obtain a Nigerian licence via the FRSC.
A valid Nigerian third-party motor insurance certificate is mandatory and must be verifiable on the NIID database; foreign green cards are not accepted, so buy local cover (from around NGN 15,000 / EUR 9 per year for third party).
If bringing your own vehicle you need the V5C/registration, a Carnet de Passages en Douane (Nigeria is a CPD country), and proof of ownership; expect heavy customs scrutiny at land borders.
Traffic drives on the right and overtakes on the left: the opposite of the UK and Ireland.
Expressway 100 km/h, rural/highway 80 km/h, built-up areas 50 km/h; FRSC speed cameras and roadblocks are common on the Lagos–Ibadan and Abuja–Kaduna expressways.
Nigeria's BAC limit is 0.05 g/100 ml (0.5 g/L) but enforcement is erratic and penalties for any alcohol behind the wheel are severe: treat it as zero.
Seatbelts mandatory front and rear, handheld phone use is banned (NGN 4,000 fine), and there is no right-turn-on-red; helmets compulsory for motorcycle/okada riders and pillions.
Dial 112 for police/ambulance/fire (also 199); for highway incidents call the FRSC on 122. Mobile coverage is patchy outside main corridors.
FRSC rules require two red warning triangles (C-caution signs), a serviceable fire extinguisher, a first-aid kit and a spare tyre in every vehicle; missing items draw on-the-spot fines.
Most federal highways are toll-free; the main tolls are the Lekki-Epe expressway in Lagos (around NGN 350 / EUR 0.20 per car, electronic eTag or cash) and the reopened Lagos–Ibadan tolls. Budget under EUR 1 per 100 km.
Nigeria has no national road-tax sticker or e-vignette; you pay per toll plaza in cash or via the Lekki Concession Company eTag.
There are no LEZ schemes in Lagos, Abuja or other Nigerian cities, but Lagos enforces an okada (motorbike) ban on major bridges and highways and bans imports of cars older than 15 years.
The harmattan haze (Dec–Feb) drops visibility sharply. Keep dipped headlights on; the May–October rainy season floods Lagos and southern roads and washes out rural laterite tracks.
FCDO and RAC strongly advise against night driving and against unescorted intercity travel: armed banditry, kidnapping, and unlit broken-down lorries make rural highways extremely dangerous after dark.
Currency is the Nigerian Naira (NGN); PMS petrol is roughly NGN 900–1,000 per litre (EUR 0.55), filling stations are overwhelmingly cash-only, and you must declare cash over USD 10,000 at the border. Small tip (NGN 200–500) to pump attendants is customary.
We'll build the itinerary, estimate fuel + tolls, and show EV chargers along the route, and this checklist appears automatically on every trip that crosses into Nigeria.
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Don't get caught out
Traffic drives on the right and overtakes on the left: the opposite of the UK and Ireland.
Expressway 100 km/h, rural/highway 80 km/h, built-up areas 50 km/h; FRSC speed cameras and roadblocks are common on the Lagos–Ibadan and Abuja–Kaduna expressways.
Nigeria's BAC limit is 0.05 g/100 ml (0.5 g/L) but enforcement is erratic and penalties for any alcohol behind the wheel are severe: treat it as zero.
Seatbelts mandatory front and rear, handheld phone use is banned (NGN 4,000 fine), and there is no right-turn-on-red; helmets compulsory for motorcycle/okada riders and pillions.