Raping Your Wife In Nigeria: Myths, Facts And What The Law Says About Spousal Rape

Raping Your Wife In Nigeria: Myths, Facts And What The Law Says About Spousal Rape – One topic that cannot help but cause controversy anytime it is raised is the issue of rape. This is because of the sensitivity of the act itself and the stigma it leaves behind with those who find themselves as victims.The question of whether or not one can rape their spouse has always found its way into every discussion on the issue of rape.

We have different laws that regulate the offence of rape in the Northern and Southern part of Nigeria. The Criminal Code is applicable to the South, while the Penal Code is applicable to the North. Though both laws may have variations regarding certain crimes, their provisions in respect of the definition of rape is somewhat similar.

According to Section 282 of the Penal Code, a man is said to commit rape when he has sexual intercourse with a woman in any of the following circumstances:

(a) against her will;

(b) without her consent;

(c) with her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt;

(d) with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married.

Under Section 357 of the Criminal Code, rape is said to have occurred when:

“Any person has an unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, or if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or, in the case of a married woman, by impersonating her husband”.

Section 6 of the Criminal Code describes unlawful carnal knowledge as carnal connection which takes place otherwise than between husband and wife.

Although in some other countries, forceful sexual intercourse with a spouse is no different from forceful sexual intercourse between people who aren’t married. However in Nigeria, particularly as evidenced from the definitions of rape as seen from the two laws regulating crime in the Southern and Northern Nigeria, a husband cannot be accused of raping his wife. This is because one of the ingredients to prove the offence of rape is unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man who is not her husband.