The Offence of Forceful Ejection from Matrimonial Home: The practice of forcefully ejecting a spouse from matrimonial home is a thriving practices in Nigeria. This is mostly suffered by woman in the hands of their husbands. As barbaric as it is, men unilaterally chases their wife and push them out of their matrimonial home when they are tired of the woman or when there is misunderstanding.
It is because of the above ugly situations that the law becomes a social engineer to put persons in check. Basically, in this article, we shall examine the provisions of the law with respect to the the Offence of Forceful Ejection from Matrimonial Home.
To do justice to this article, we shall focus on VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 20015. The Act on the Prohibition of Violence Against Person is the Principal enacting establishing the Offence of Forceful Ejection from Matrimonial Home. Lastly, we shall also discuss the limitation of the Act.
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THE OFFENCE OF FORCEFUL EJECTION FROM MATRIMONIAL HOME
Section 9 of the VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 20015 makes provisions for the Offence of Forceful Ejection from Matrimonial Home. The section is herein reproduced as follows:
- A person who forcefully evicts his or her spouse from his or her home or refuses him or her access commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding N300,000.00 or both.
- A person who attempts to commit the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.
- A person who incites, aids, abets, or counsels another person to commit the offence as provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.
- A person who receives or assists another who, to his or her knowledge, committed the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this section is an accessory after the fact and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.
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THE POSITION OF THE LAW ON THE OFFENCE
From the above provisions, the following position of law with regards the offence.
- Forcefully evicting or denying your spouse access to matrimonial home is an offence
- Attempting to evict or deny your spouse access to matrimonial home is an offence
- Assisting any persons to evict or deny his/her spouse access to their matrimonial home is an offence
However, there are some problems with this Law. The major problem is that the VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 20015 is only applicable in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
Section 47 of the Act provides that the provisions of the Act shall be applicable only in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This means that the VAPP Act is not binding law in a state unless adopted by that state.
Another important limitation is that by virtue of Section 27 of the Act, only the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has jurisdiction with respect to offences under the Act.
WHAT TO DO!
Conclusively, if you are staying within the Federal Capital Territory, you can enforce your right against any spouse who forcefully evict or denies you access to your matrimonial home.
All you need to do is to make a report to the Police. See Section 32 of the VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (PROHIBITION) ACT 20015 which created and granted powers to the police in respect of the Act.