Lagos State Has No VAPP/SGBV Law!

Daily Law Tips (Tip 711) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LL.M, ACIArb(UK)

Introduction:
No doubt, Lagos State is legislatively ahead of other states in Nigeria and in some cases, even ahead of Nigeria. While Lagos State pioneered the enactment of the legislation for the protection of victims of domestic violence in 2007 (through the Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law) and also made remarkable inventions in its Criminal Code of 2011, presently, Lagos State seems to be behind in the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). Lagos State has failed to tune-up its legal framework for SGBV, even with the emergence of a very innovative legislation (Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Act, 2105) that criminalized all forms of SGBV and HR, increased punishments and provided more protection for victims in the Federal Capital Territory; Abuja.

While many states across Nigeria are enacting laws that are similar to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, some persons have argued that Lagos State does not need such. Surprisingly, certain civil society groups and platforms that are tracking the enactment of Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws in states across Nigeria, have listed Lagos State among states with Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws. This work reveals the fact that Lagos State in Nigeria, unlike many other states, does not have a Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law or any dedicated specific law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR).

Laws Are Not Pregnancies:
The physical and biological conjectures that come to play before conception and even during pregnancy are often not public affairs. Even in Africa, where there is still true love for family and co-existence of extended families, the acts leading to pregnancy are shrouded in secrecy, although the product of it, is always a community joy.

In this light, it is clear that in any democracy, processes leading to new laws (legislative processes) are never secret affairs and laws are public issues. Hence, it is impossible for any state government, legislature or its federal equivalents to embark on a legislative construction without a public engagement. Also, there cannot be a law without an official assent/consent and signature of the Governor of the state (that of the President of the Nigeria, if at the federal level). So, there is no way, Lagos State will enact a Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR) without publicity. Laws and processes leading to laws are not pregnancies; they are public affairs.

The Baseline SGBV & HP Legal Framework In Lagos State:
Lagos State does not have Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Law, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). Rather, Lagos State has laws with some provisions on SGBV (there are two major laws that cover some forms of SGBV and provide protection to victims of domestic violence in Lagos State). The laws are; the Lagos State Criminal Code of 2011 and the Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law of 2007 (PADVL).

The Lagos State Criminal Code generally creates criminal offences, including sexual offences. An entire chapter (Chapter 25) is dedicated to sexual offences in the Criminal Code. The Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL) provides assurances and procedures for issuance of protection orders to victims of domestic violence by courts of law. It is important to note that the Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL) does not criminalize and provide punishment for domestic violence rather focus on Protection Orders. It however, criminalizes actions done to frustrate/affect Protection Orders. The title “Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL)” seems to be bogus for the PADVL and could have been titled “the Lagos State Protection of Domestic Violence Victims Law” to clearly reflect the true content of the law, as it is.

Need for Dedicated Law on SGBV & HR In Lagos State:
As at 2007 when Lagos State enacted the Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law of 2007 (PADVL), no other state in Nigeria could conceive such thoughts and law. In the normal style of Lagos State, it also amended its Criminal Code in 2011 and scored good points on the fight against SGBV and HR. It even set up the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), charged to respond to incidences of SGBV. All these and many more are the groundbreaking and pathfinding commendable inventions of Lagos State in combating SGBV.

However, there is need for some legislative reforms (to amend or enact new laws) to cover more forms of SGBV, protect victims, prosecute offenders and strengthen criminal justice institutions. The VAPP Act has set the pace this time, and Lagos State is encouraged to follow and may be, as usual overtake and lead. Having a Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Law, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR) in Lagos State, will afford the state an opportunity to refine its outdated definition of rape. It will also criminalise the following forms of violence; “harmful traditional practices on widows”, “forced financial dependence or economic abuse”, “emotional, verbal and psychological abuse”, “female circumcision and genital mutilation”, “ejection of spouse from home”, “forced isolation or separation from family and friends”, “abandonment of husband or wife, children or other dependents without any means of sustenance”, “Stalking”, “Political Violence” and “indecent exposure”, among others.

Conclusion:
Laws are softwares and applications that run nations on autopilot with minimal human intervention and predictable standards, geared towards peaceful co-existence, personal freedom and national coherence. Passion for nation and quest for justice is nothing, where there is no enabling law and reliable legal framework.

The passion of the executive and legislative teams of Lagos State is amazingly outstanding. However, the annoying surge in rape and SGBV cases in Lagos State needs more than passion. There is rather an urgent need for a dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR), to ensure standard-minimum punishments for offenders, to avoid sentencing abuse in courts, to guarantee maximum protection for victims, to decrease SGBV cases and to increase reporting and access to justice.

All states in Nigeria have criminal laws that cover some parts of sexual offences (some forms of SGBV) but there is need for a coverage of all forms of SGBV & HR as well as Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). This is part of the reasons that states in Nigeria even with their respective Criminal Codes, Penal Codes and PADVLs are now enacting their own Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Laws, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). Lagos State is expected to do same, too.

Probably, the Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL) has confused some persons, and such persons have wrongly assumed that Lagos State has a Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Law, its equivalent or any dedicated state law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR). This seems to be the only possible (but weak) justification for any platform or organization to rate, quote and list Lagos State as a state with a Violence Against Persons [Prohibition] Law. There is need to always go beyond titles of laws!

The case of Ekiti State is instructive. In 2019, Ekiti State enacted its own law on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Harmful Practises (HR) and titled it the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019. The law repealed earlier laws on SGBV (like,The Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, No. 21 of 2011, Ekiti State Female Circumcision (Prohibition) Law CAP. E.13, 2002, and the Rights of Widows Law CAP. R.6) in order to have a stronger legal framework like the VAPP Act. The Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019 is aside the title of the law, a replica of the VAPP Act and more importantly, provides a robust legal framework in Ekiti State. It is the contents of laws that make-up legal frameworks and not just the titles of laws. Lagos State needs robust laws and not robust titles of laws, as seen in the Lagos State PADVL.

On a VAPP Tracker on the website of a civil society organisation, the assent date (ie, the date that a VAPP Law was signed into law) in Lagos State is quoted as 18 May 2007. This is actually the assent date of the Lagos State PADVL as shown above, and the Lagos State PADVL is not a VAPP Law rather a law on the protection of victims of domestic violence, this is just a component of SGBV. By the way, the VAPP Act also has this component in a Chapter (specifically at PART II) and has more five (5) parts /chapters, that clearly defines and criminalises all forms of SGBV, HR & VAWG, among other things. Lagos State needs to do more and the concerned VAPP Tracker should be fed with genuine data to avoid misinformation and disinformation. Field workers in Lagos State are already have issues sailing through the confusion being caused by this wrong information and it also seems to have exempted Lagos State from the CSO driven clamour for enactment of a VAPP Law.  I hope this work clears the air!

My authorities, are:
1. Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
2. Sections 1, 47 and 48 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 and other similar laws in states of the federation.
3. Sections 1, 2, 418, 419 and 420 as well as the entire Chapter 25 of the Lagos State Criminal Code, 2011
4. Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 18 and 19 of the Lagos State Prohibition Against Domestic Violence Law, 2007.
5. The Supreme Court’s judgment in the case (on how to prove rape) of NDEWENU POSU & ANOR v. THE STATE (2011) LPELR-1969(SC).
6. Onyekachi Umah, “How Lagos State Is Legislatively Ahead Of Other States” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 30 September 2020 <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/how-lagos-state-is-legislatively-ahead-of-other-states/ > accessed 7 December 2020
7. Onyekachi Umah, “The First Virtual Court Hearing Was In Borno State And Not In Lagos State.” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 1 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/the-first-virtual-court-hearing-was-in-borno-state-and-not-in-lagos-state-daily-law-tips-tip-579-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 7 December 2020
8. Onyekachi Umah, “Nigeria Has No Law Against Public Gathering During Covid-19 Era.” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 14 April 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/nigeria-has-no-law-against-public-gathering-during-covid-19-era-daily-law-tips-tip-547-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 7 December 2020.
9. Onyekachi Umah, “An Access To Criminal Laws In Nigeria” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 4 December 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/an-access-to-criminal-laws-in-nigeria/ > accessed 7 December 2020.
10. Onyekachi Umah, “8 New Things About Rape Laws In Nigeria” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 3 December 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/8-new-things-about-rape-laws-in-nigeria/ > accessed 7 December 2020
11. OluTimehin Adegbeye, “Nothing Happens When Women Are Raped in Nigeria” (TheNewYorkTimes, 4 September 2020) <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/opinion/nigeria-rape-sexual-abuse.html > accessed 2 December 2020
12. Onyekachi Umah, “ChannelsTv Interviews Onyekachi Umah on Rape and the Laws.” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 20 November 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/channelstv-interviews-onyekachi-umah-on-rape-and-the-laws/ > accessed 2 December 2020
13. Onyekachi Umah, “Can A Woman Be Charged With Rape” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 24 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/can-a-woman-be-charged-with-rape-daily-law-tips-tip-595-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-ll-m-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020
14. Onyekachi Umah, “Can A Husband Rape His Wife” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 19 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/can-a-husband-rape-his-wife-daily-law-tips-tip-592-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020.
15. Warif Center, “Rape Stats In Nigeria” (warifng) <https://warifng.org/rape-stats-in-nigeria/> accessed 2 December 2020
16. Morenike Folayan, Morolake Odetoyinbo, Abigail Harrison and Bradon Brown, ”Rape in Nigeria: a silent epidemic among adolescents with implications for HIV infection” [2014] 7(25583) Global Health Action <https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v7.25583> accessed 2 December 2020
17. Onyekachi Umah, “When Is Seduction Or Indecent Dressing A Justification For Rape In Nigeria?” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 18 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/when-is-seduction-or-indecent-dressing-a-justification-for-rape-in-nigeria-daily-law-tips-tip-591-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020
18. Onyekachi Umah, “New Punishment For Rape In Nigeria” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 23 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/new-punishment-for-rape-in-nigeria-daily-law-tips-tip-594-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020
19. Onyekachi Umah, “Rape Cannot Be Settled Out Of Court (No Room For Pay-Off/Forgiveness/Withdrawal Of Complaints” (LearnNigerianLaws.com,26 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/rape-cannot-be-settled-out-of-court-no-room-for-pay-off-forgiveness-withdrawal-of-complaints-daily-law-tips-tip-596-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020Adetomiwa Isiaka,“Nigeria declares ‘state of emergency’ on rape and sexual assault” (global voices, 3 July 2020) <https://globalvoices.org/2020/07/03/nigeria-declares-state-of-emergency-on-rape-and-sexual-assault/ > accessed 2 December 2020
20. BCC, “Nigeria’s Kaduna passes law to castrate child rapists” (BBC, 11 September 2020) <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54117462 > accessed 2 December 2020.
21. Onyekachi Umah, “A Female Too, Can BE Guilty Of Rape” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 13 December 2018) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/daily-law-tips-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-tip-248-a-female-too-can-be-guilty-of-rape-in-nigeria/ > accessed 2 December 2020
22. Onyekachi Umah, “Ages At Which Sexual Intercourse With Consent Will Amount To Rape” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 20 February 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/ages-at-which-sexual-intercourse-with-consent-will-amount-to-rape-daily-law-tips-tip-509-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020
23. Onyekachi Umah, “How To Prove Rape In Nigeria).” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 2 July 2019) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/how-to-prove-rape-in-nigeria-daily-law-tips-tip-363-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarb-uk/ > accessed 2 December 2020.
24. Onyekachi Umah, “Child Marriage/Abuse Is A Crime (Rape): An Exposé On Laws Prohibiting Child Marriage” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 22 June 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/child-marriage-abuse-is-a-crime-rape-an-expose-on-laws-prohibiting-child-marriage-daily-law-tips-tip-593-by-onyekachi-umah-esq-llm-aciarbuk/ > accessed 2 December 2020
25. Onyekachi Umah, “Forced Marriage Is An Offence In Nigeria.” (LearnNigerianLaws.com, 21 October 2020) <https://learnnigerianlaws.com/forced-marriage-is-an-offence-in-nigeria/ > accessed 2 December 2020

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