ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND NIGERIAN EMPLOYMENT LAW: REGULATING ALGORITHMIC HIRING, MONITORING AND TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is redefining employment relationships globally, with significant implications for how workers are recruited, monitored and terminated. In Nigeria, employers are increasingly deploying AI tools in candidate screening, productivity tracking, and decision-making processes. While these technologies promise efficiency, objectivity, and cost reduction, they raise critical concerns about fairness, privacy, and accountability. AI-driven recruitment systems risk embedding algorithmic bias; workplace surveillance threatens constitutional rights to dignity and privacy; and “robo-firing,” where automated tools drive termination decisions, jeopardises due process guarantes Nigeria’s Labour Act 2004, the primary statute governing employment, was designed for a human-centric workplace and remains silent on these developments. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 provides rights to dignity, fair hearing, and privacy, but these provisions hav are yet to be judicially tested in the context of AI-driven employment practices. The Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 introduces safeguards on data processing but does not adequately address employment-specific vulnerabilities. This article interrogates the adequacy of Nigeria’s current legal framework in regulating AI in employment, situating the analysis within global debates and comparative regulatory frameworks such as the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidelines on algorithmic decision-making. It argues for a rights-based regulatory approach that integrates transparency, accountability, and human oversight. The paper concludes that unless Nigeria adapts its employment law to the realities of AI, workers will remain exposed to discrimination, undue surveillance, and arbitrary termination of employment in the digital economy