Family & Children's Rights
Domestic Violence — Spouse Says It's a Private Matter
When a perpetrator or bystander claims the police have no jurisdiction over what happens in the home
Premium
intermediate
8 minutes
The Situation
What They Said
“What happens between husband and wife is private. This is a family matter — the police have no business here.”
A woman has been physically assaulted by her husband and a neighbour or family member has called the police or is attempting to intervene. The husband — or a relative acting on his behalf — is blocking police access and insisting that domestic disputes are beyond the reach of law enforcement. This framing is deeply embedded in Nigerian cultural assumptions about marriage as a private institution immune from state interference. Women who have been abused are often pressured by extended family, community leaders, and even police officers to 'manage the situation quietly' rather than pursue a criminal complaint. The result is that perpetrators rely on institutional reluctance to enforce the law. In reality, Nigerian law has since 2015 made domestic violence an unambiguous criminal matter.
The Fallacy
The 'Private Family Matter' Myth
The claim that domestic violence is a private matter beyond police jurisdiction is false as a matter of Nigerian law. The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 explicitly defines domestic violence as a criminal offence — it is not categorised as a civil or family matter that requires the parties to resolve privately. The state has a legitimate and legal interest in protecting citizens from physical harm, and that interest does not disappear because the harm occurs inside a marriage or a home. Framing assault as a 'family matter' is a tactic used to deter victims from seeking help and to discourage authorities from acting; it has no legal basis.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPP), No. 7 of 2015
Section 19 — Domestic Violence Offence
“A person who commits domestic violence against another commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than three years or a fine not less than two hundred thousand naira or both.”
Section 19 removes any ambiguity: domestic violence is a criminal offence in Nigeria. It is not a civil dispute, not a family matter to be handled by elders, and not a private arrangement between spouses. Any person — including a police officer — who refuses to act on a report of domestic violence on the grounds that it is a 'private matter' is obstructing the enforcement of federal criminal law.
Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, No. 7 of 2015
Section 1 — Physical Violence as a Criminal Offence
“A person who commits any of the following acts against another person commits an offence — (a) attempting to cause physical harm; (b) intentionally or recklessly causing physical harm.”
The physical assault that typically constitutes domestic violence is squarely captured by Section 1. It does not matter that the perpetrator is a spouse or that the assault occurred in the family home — the offence is defined by the act, not the relationship or location.
Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, No. 7 of 2015
Sections 37–38 — Protection Orders and Mandatory Arrest
“Section 37: A court may issue a protection order against a person. Section 38: Where a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed an act of violence against another, the officer shall arrest the person without warrant.”
Section 38 imposes a mandatory arrest obligation on police officers — it uses the word 'shall', not 'may'. A police officer who declines to arrest a domestic violence perpetrator on the grounds that it is a family matter is violating this statutory duty. Section 37 additionally allows the victim to obtain a court protection order that legally bars the perpetrator from the family home and from making contact.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Malachi 2:16 (NIV)
“The man who hates and divorces his wife, says the Lord, the God of Israel, does violence to the one he should protect, says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.”
Scripture is explicit that violence within marriage is not a private arrangement God overlooks — it is described as a betrayal of the covenant of protection that marriage is meant to represent. The framing of domestic abuse as a 'family matter' to be kept quiet inverts this moral reality. Seeking legal protection against violence is not a failure of the marriage; it is an act of self-preservation that the law — and this passage — supports.
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
True peace is not the suppression of harm behind closed doors. A neighbour, family member, or community leader who intervenes to help a victim of domestic violence access the law is not destroying the peace — they are creating it. Genuine peacemaking sometimes requires bringing hidden harm into the light so that it can be properly addressed.
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What They'll Say Next
Common Counter-Arguments
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