INTRODUCTION Going by the 2018 figures of the World Bank, Nigeria has 86.9 million of her population living in extreme poverty – the largest globally(World Bank, 2018). This is in spite of various poverty related programmes implemented in the country since the 1980s. The area of social protection emerged to assist in addressing the poverty question, particularly in developing countries. This booklet is meant to provide on-hand information on social protection in Nigeria. Information provided in this booklet were obtained mainly through desk-based research. The booklet provides explanation for social protection, particularly on how it relates to existing poverty reduction concepts. It also discusses the functions of social protection, ILO Recommendation 202 and three basic types of social protection namely: social insurance, social assistance and inclusion efforts. It highlights some impactful social protection programmes in Africa as a pointer to best practices. The booklet undertakes a synopsis of some past poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria and indicates why they could not make the 01