REGULATING GIG ECONOMY EMPLOYMENT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA AND INDIA’S EVOLVING LABOUR LAW FRAMEWORKS Martina. A. Ebikake-Nwanyanwu* Abstract This paper examined the regulation of gig economy employment through a comparative analysis of Nigeria and India’s evolving labour laws. The paper identified the central issues as the misclassification of gig workers as “independent contractors,” the absence of statutory protections for wages, health, and collective bargaining, and the regulatory gap between traditional labour statutes and platform-based work. In Nigeria, the Labour Act 2004 and the Pension Reform Act 2014 were found to be inadequate for platform workers, while in India, the Code on Social Security 2020 represented a legislative attempt to extend benefits to gig and platform workers. However, India made more progress through statutory recognition of gig workers under s.2 and s.114-116 of the Code on Social Security 2020, and the establishment of a national database. Nigeria, by contrast, relied on common law tests and had no gig-specific legislation as of 2024. It was concluded that while both countries acknowledged the economic contribution of gig work, their legal frameworks remained reactive and fragmented. The study recommended amongst others statutory recognition of a third category of “dependent contractor, tripartite dialogue between government, platforms, and worker associations. Keywords: Gig Economy, Platform Workers, Labour Law, Nigeria, India, Employment Status, Social Security