👨👩👧 Family RightsDomestic Violence Protection & Legal Remedies in Nigeria — Know Your Rights
Learn your rights under Nigerian law on domestic violence, how to get a protection order, report abuse, and access legal remedies. A plain-language guide.
Last verified: April 2026
Domestic violence is a serious and widespread problem in Nigeria, affecting people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds. Nigerian law provides several protections for victims, including criminal prosecution of abusers, civil protection orders, and support services. Understanding your rights is the first step toward safety and justice.
⚖️ Your Key Rights
- ✓You have the right to be free from physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse within your home or intimate relationship, and the law recognises all these forms as domestic violence.
- ✓You have the right to apply to a court for a Protection Order that legally prohibits your abuser from contacting, threatening, or coming near you — even if you are still married to them.
- ✓You have the right to report domestic violence to the police without fear that your case will be dismissed as a 'family matter'; officers are obligated to record and investigate your complaint.
- ✓You have the right to emergency shelter and support services provided by government agencies and NGOs, regardless of whether you have filed a police report.
- ✓You have the right to have your abuser criminally prosecuted — assault, battery, rape within marriage (in states that recognise it), and other violent acts are criminal offences under Nigerian law.
- ✓You have the right to seek compensation (damages) in civil court for injuries, financial losses, and suffering caused by domestic violence.
- ✓Children in your household are separately protected; you have the right to seek a court order to protect children from an abusive parent or guardian under the Child Rights Act.
📋 Common Situations Explained
Physical assault by a spouse or intimate partner
Hitting, beating, or physically harming a partner is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code (applicable in Southern Nigeria) and the Penal Code (applicable in Northern Nigeria). You can report to the police, who can arrest and charge the abuser. In Lagos and several other states that have enacted the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, additional specific offences and penalties apply.
Seeking a Protection Order after threats or ongoing abuse
If you fear for your safety, you can apply to a Magistrate Court or High Court for a Protection Order even before any physical violence occurs — threats and emotional abuse are sufficient grounds under the VAPP Act. The order can prohibit your abuser from entering your home, workplace, or children's school. Breaching a Protection Order is itself a criminal offence.
Marital rape and sexual violence
The federal VAPP Act expressly criminalises rape within marriage, and states that have adopted it — including Lagos, Oyo, Anambra, and others — recognise this as a serious criminal offence. If you are in a state that has not yet adopted the VAPP Act, you can still report sexual assault under the general criminal law, as the exemption for marital rape has been challenged and removed in several jurisdictions.
Economic abuse — being denied access to money or forced into debt
Controlling a partner's finances, confiscating their income, or deliberately putting them into debt constitutes economic abuse under the VAPP Act. Victims can report this to the police or a family court and seek remedies including financial support orders and division of jointly owned assets.
Domestic violence affecting children in the home
If children witness or are subjected to abuse, you can apply to court for a custody or care-and-protection order under the Child Rights Act (adopted by most states). Social welfare officers from the Ministry of Women Affairs can also intervene to remove children from dangerous situations and place them in temporary care while investigations proceed.
🚀 What To Do
- 1Ensure your immediate safety first — if you are in danger, leave the situation if you safely can and call the Nigeria Police Force emergency line (199 or 112) or go to the nearest police station.
- 2Document the abuse as thoroughly as possible: photograph injuries, save threatening messages or recordings, note dates and witnesses, and seek medical attention so that your injuries are recorded in a hospital report.
- 3Report to the police by making a formal written statement at the nearest station; insist that your report is recorded in the station diary and ask for your case number — do not accept being told it is a 'family matter'.
- 4Apply for a Protection Order by visiting the nearest Magistrate Court or High Court; you can do this yourself or with the help of a lawyer or a legal aid NGO, and courts can issue emergency orders the same day in urgent cases.
- 5Contact your state's Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development or a registered domestic violence NGO (such as WARDC, FIDA Nigeria, or Project Alert) for shelter, counselling, and free legal assistance.
- 6Follow up with the prosecutor or the police on your criminal complaint regularly, and consult a lawyer — including through Legal Aid Council offices — if the case is stalled or you need to pursue civil compensation.
👨⚖️ When to Get a Lawyer
You should consult a lawyer as soon as possible if you need to apply for a Protection Order, pursue criminal prosecution, seek divorce or custody related to the abuse, or claim financial compensation — a lawyer ensures your rights are fully protected and your case is properly presented in court. Free or subsidised legal help is available through the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and NGOs such as FIDA Nigeria.
🔗 Official Resources
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