Marital Rape Can Attract Life Imprisonment — Lagos State Warns Husbands

The Lagos State Government has warned husbands that forcing their wives into sexual intercourse without consent can attract life imprisonment under the Lagos State Criminal Law. The warning was issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, at the commencement of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month.

Speaking at the event, Dr Babajide explained that while Nigerian law does not recognise marital rape, Lagos State’s Criminal Law provides for the offence of sexual assault by penetration, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. 

“Under Lagos State criminal law, a man cannot be accused of raping his wife if they are together and are in good terms. However, once there is an issue between them and the wife refuses to have sex with him, the husband cannot force her. If the husband forces her and the wife reports him, we will not charge him for rape but for sexual assault by penetration, and the punishment is life imprisonment.”

Dr. Babajide Martins is the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, responsible for overseeing criminal prosecutions in the state. He stated that any man who believes paying his wife’s dowry gives him unrestricted access to her body is mistaken in law, and urged women experiencing any form of domestic or sexual violence to report to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency for appropriate legal action. 

“Any man who feels because he paid his wife’s dowry, nobody can challenge him for domestic violence — the wife should report such a man to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency.”

The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month was launched to drive public education on the legal protections available to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and to encourage more women to report incidents to the relevant authorities rather than suffering in silence.