We Hold Your Brief
Dear Counsel, I am compelled, to seek your opinion on this. In our estate, I have a neighbour who constantly subjects his wife to physical beating, to the point that, sometimes, the woman is hospitalised. On the last occasion, another neighbour and I forced ourselves into their apartment, to stop the fight. We found out that, the woman only requested for money to travel home to see her parents and the man got angry and started abusing her and her parents, which later resulted in physical abuse.
We raised the issue at one of our estate meetings, but the matter was dismissed, as many felt it was a mere domestic affair, which we should not interfere in.
Kindly, advice me on what can be done, to protect this innocent woman from such a violent and temperamental spouse. E.E., Ibafo, Ogun State. Dear E.E., It is quite unfortunate that, this problem is still so prevalent in many of our States, especially in rural
communities. A recent study showed that, it is also on the rise in urban areas.
However, the first thing to note is that, spousal abuse is a serious crime in every State in Nigeria. To further strengthen our laws, the National Assembly passed the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act in 2015, which criminalises any domestic offences, including abandonment of children, spouse, and other dependants, without means of sustenance, or a person who receives or assists another, who to his or her knowledge, committed this offence; to forceful ejection from home; to spousal battery; to incest, etc.
Section 4 of the VAPP for instance, provides that: “A
person who batters his or her spouse commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both”.
If you really desire to help your neighbour’s wife, you must, as a matter of urgency report her husband, or encourage her to report him to the Ogun State Directorate of Domestic Violence, under the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. You may also get the Police involved, because, her life is at stake.