Force your wife to have sex, faces life imprisonment – Lagos DPP

…Marriage, bride price No license to ignore the wife’s consent, warns the public prosecutor

…Husbands could be accused of sexual assault after forcing reluctant wives

Daud Olatunji

The Lagos State Government has warned husbands against forcing their wives to have sexual intercourse, saying marriage does not give a man the right to have sex with his wife without her consent.

State Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Babajide Martins revealed this on Tuesday during a press conference organized by the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency to mark the start of the state’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month.

Martins said that although federal law does not specifically recognize forced sexual intercourse between spouses as marital rape, Lagos State criminal law provides grounds to criminally prosecute a husband who forces his wife to have sexual intercourse.

According to him, such a husband could be prosecuted for sexual assault by penetration, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The DPP argues that consent remains fundamental even within marriage, particularly where the wife has expressly refused sexual intercourse.

He explained that the legal situation could become applicable if a relationship between the spouses had broken down or there was a dispute and the wife had clearly withdrawn her consent.

“Once there is a problem between them and the wife refuses to have sex with him, the husband cannot force her,” Martins said.

He added that should a woman report such an incident, the authorities would not necessarily prosecute the husband for rape but could charge him with sexual assault by penetration under applicable Lagos law.

Martins also cautioned men against believing that paying bride price or marriage automatically gives them unlimited rights over their wives.

She urged women experiencing domestic or sexual violence to report such cases to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency for appropriate intervention.

The warning comes amid renewed efforts by the Lagos State Government to raise awareness on domestic and sexual violence and strengthen reporting and prosecution mechanisms across the state.

The DPP urged victims not to remain silent, stressing that reporting incidents is necessary so that law enforcement and other relevant authorities can intervene.

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