Since childhood, Nigerian society has made it clear that indecent acts are not condoned. While the definition of "indecent" can be subjective, there's a general consensus that certain acts, especially those involving children or the public, are considered indecent.
The question arises: Is it a crime in Nigeria to act in a manner considered indecent? This has led to debates about the legal stance on this issue. An indecent act is defined as one that right-minded individuals would consider contrary to community standards of decency.
In Nigeria, it's an offense to expose one's genital organs or a substantial part of them with the intention of causing distress or tempting another to commit an offense. Now, considering the various provisions stated above, it can be deduced that the law has created specific laws to criminalize Indecent Acts in Nigeria. This is their attempt to “draw the line” in order to create a society that maintains a certain level of decency. It is however, not considered a serious offence but a misdemeanor accompanied by 2 (two) years imprisonment. As it is more of a societal issue, people should act in a more decent manner putting into consideration how the general public would view their actions.
An aggrieved person who is a victim of an Indecent Act can file a case before the Magistrate Court of their domicile State through a lawyer.
Let's delve deeper into the historical and legal context of nudity and indecency in Nigeria.
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Historical Context of Nudity in Nigeria
Long before modern clothing, it is said that humans walked about naked, unabashed and without fear of being criticized, mocked, or stereotyped. Modernization came with the introduction of clothing and the wearing of them up to the point fashion stands globally now. The Kambari tribe in Nigeria is one of the few tribes that still practice nudity as a culture, and live independent of the Federal government. Nudity was passed down from their ancestors to them as a culture. However, when they have to make trips to the market to sell their produce, the women cover the bottom half of their bodies with a wrapper.
In modern times, there are laws that govern nudity all over the world. These laws are seen as the measure of decency. Public nudity is forbidden by laws against public sex acts and public nudity. It is against the law to be naked in public, according to nudity statutes.
Globally, there are many different rules about clothing. There are typically no restrictions that specify what must be worn in terms of attire. However, by punishing people who dress in ways that are not considered acceptable by the community, the community standards of attire are indirectly defined. People who don’t cover themselves enough may be charged with a variety of offenses such as indecent exposure, public indecency, nudity, or other terms. persuaded by it to conduct a crime.
Religion and law are the premises on which nudity is frowned upon and for many nudity is relative. For religion, exposure of any part of the body; any part that is not covered is said to be indecent and nude.
Colonial ideas surrounding sex and female sexuality affected the ways in which the sexual practices of Nigerian women were viewed. Traditionally in Nigeria there was a heavy emphasis put on chastity. Young girls were put in confinement for some time depending on the wealth of their families, and received visits from older women who fed and taught them laws of the land and marital duties. In Ancient Yoruba Kingdom, it was customary for the groom to show a white fabric soaked with the bride's blood as a proof of her virginity. This act brought respect and admiration from the groom's family, as it was an acknowledgement that the bride wasn't promiscuous. Although, chasity among young girls was placed with high regard, scholarly work reveals a variety of socially permissible sexual interactions outside marriage. An example of this is the act of adultery.
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Nigeria was under British colonial rule until 1960s when she gained her Independence. Their presence was hardly invisible and they influenced both the creation of prostitution in Nigeria and the stigma that comes with it. One of the bringings that the British brought to Lagos, Nigeria was the cash economy which made the prostitution business possible. Starting in the early 1900s, the rising economic importance of Lagos as a seaport and capital city changed the political and economic landscape of the city and contributed to the arrival of Nigerians from the hinterland. The demographic and commercial changes also expanded to commoditization of sex and by 1910, commercial sex services had become prevalent.
"Hawking" which is a slang term for prostitution, is argued by researchers like Saheed Aderinto to have only been possible in major cities in Nigeria like Lagos, where the population jumped rapidly from 5,000 inhabitants to a quarter of a million in over a century. The idea is that poverty increased with the population which encouraged the entrance of children in the work force; resulting in young girls working as "hawkers" in Lagos. In 1916, the colonial government enacted a law prohibiting solicitation by women but the law did not define prostitution. The law was implemented discretionarily by the government and commercial sex work was tolerated as long it did not lead to public nuisance.
In a country steeped with a religious and traditional moralist sentiments, sex work was not tolerated by some women in the community. In 1923, the Lagos Women League, an elite women organization wrote a petition to the police chief seeking the cancellation of restrictions placed on the recruitment of women as police officers. The petition was written partly to curb a rise in prostitution and also the patronage of prostitutes by male officers. They also asked the government to step into the situation in Lagos as they claimed it was becoming the "headquarters" of prostitution. In response, secretary Donald Cameron emphasized that the Colony police was taking care of any prostitute who had caused any sort of disruption to the public. The elite women organization wanted actual policy and continued to petition the government to do something about the prostitutes. They specifically asked for them to be relocated back to their home countries as many of them were not Nigerian born.
Public opinion was also critical of the sex trade linking it with juvenile delinquency. In 1932, Tijani Omoyele, a musician released an album, Asewo/ Omo j aguda (prostitutes are thieves or criminals). By the 1930s, prostitutes were linked with notorious delinquents' groups like the Jagudas and Boma boys in Lagos and they were beginning to be called Ashewo or people who change money into lower denominations. During the pre-World War II period commercial sex workers solicited clients in brothels, cinemas and hotels bars in the Lagos Island districts of Broad St, Breadfruit, Labinjo, Martins, Porto Novo Market- and Taiwo.
In Lagos, commercial sex work was majorly practiced by non-Lagos natives and were called names like Ashewo (Yoruba word), Karuwaci (Hausa), Akwunakwuna (Igbo word) and Asape. Another name commonly used was "Akunakuna" which was a reference to a towns name in Ogoja, which is where most are believed to have came from when the first transnational prostitution occurred around 1938; the thousands of prostitutes were believed to have brought in 2,000 pounds in a month. Many of the workers sometimes returned to their native land with enough money to earn the wrath of men who were not used to women being wealthier than them.
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After the onset of World War II, British officials became apprehensive about any link between high venereal disease rates in West African Frontier Force soldiers and promiscuous sexual affairs with prostitutes. This was backed up by the fact that in 1942 there were 43.2% VD contractions in WAFF; it was reported that these numbers of contraction were higher than those of malaria and any other inflections. As the rates of STDs went up, so did the panic. Soon there would be rumors that African gonorrhea had a higher death rate than any other kind. During this period, forced prostitution of teenagers was becoming common. In 1943 Abidjan, a Nigerian born child prostitute named Lady was killed by her older handler, Mary Eyeamevber Eforghere of Warri Province, Nigeria, for refusing to have sex with a European sailor.
The combination of the fear of venereal diseases, child prostitution and controlling juvenile delinquency created a new impetus to prohibit prostitution. In 1941, an anti-vice squad was formed to prosecute offenders based on two newly created laws, the Unlicensed Guide (Prohibition) Ordinance and the Venereal Disease Ordinance. The former was also known informally as the loitering law which was designed to limit the link between foreign sex tourists and prostitutes. The law required tour guards to obtain license guards in order to perform their work. The law targeted both young delinquents who were considered the pimps and the prostitutes. In addition, prostitutes who loiter on the street and make advances towards tourists were arrested by the anti-vice squad. In 1942, a hostel was built to rehabilitate child prostitutes in Lagos and a year later, the Children and Young Persons Ordinance was passed prohibiting child prostitution.
The colonial government also established a welfare and social services department to manage the hostel and rehabilitation of child prostitutes. Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent, which can vary from country to country. Poor economic situations in many developing countries, can often lead to poor socioeconomic situations for parents, which has implications on a child's upbringing. Often this creates circumstances in which children need to economically support their families. For many young girls, this means engaging in exploitative economic activities such as prostitution. For some young girls in Nigeria, especially teenage girls, it has been indicated that prostitution is becoming an "occupation".
Countless girls position themselves in strategically geographic locations such as night clubs or bars. Many young girls are also unwilling participants in prostitution, through methods of trafficking. Traffickers usually recruit the vulnerable with promises of better conditions elsewhere. Young girls can be baited by promises of economic opportunities with higher earnings than those available in their local communities. Along with this there are promises of skill-based training and education. Some jobs that are promised are in overseas markets such as Europe, and these children are told they will have opportunities to work as nannies, cleaners, hairdressers, etc. After independence in 1960, brothels and prostitution that had been prohibited in the middle 1940s began to spring up again.
Trans-national commercial sex work which started during British colonial West Africa began to grow into a transcontinental business in the 1980s. Starting in the mid-1980s, the trafficking of Women to European countries such as Italy began to gain traction. In many of the cases, there were examples of coercion. Coercion happened in situations whereby the women or adolescents to be trafficked were asked to swear an oath that was administered by an African religion or juju priest. Some personal items such as bodily fluids were taken by the priests for keeping or used to administer the oath and seal the agreement. When the women reach the country of destination they are immediately indebted to the trafficker for transport and lodging fees and will have to pay off the debt before they are freed, if ever.
Some scholars have stated that prostitution in Nigeria increased as a result of the adverse economic effect of the drop in oil price in the early 1980s followed by the implementation of structural adjustment programs in the middle 1980s. In the 1980s, brothels began to spring up in the cities and prostitutes who move into the city were charged daily rent for accommodation. The 1980s also contributed to the beginning of call-ups or part-time prostitution by young graduates and students. In Benin City, the red-light district is around Ugbague Street. This started to be an area of prostitution in the 1940s when young women from other states came to the area.
Commercial sex work and human trafficking continues to thrive in Nigeria. Based on the estimates of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, about 8,000 - 10,000 women of Nigerian descent practiced prostitution in Italy between 2000 and 2009. Cross-border commercial work also resorted to re-instating child trafficking for sex. Within Nigeria, the most common form of sex work is found within brothels or residences of sex workers. A steady rise in young students and unemployed graduates who use sex to earn income and acting as part-time prostitutes or call girls or sometimes called Aristo girls are changing the strategies used by sex workers. These young graduates and students use the services of pimps and call-ups as a modus of operation, while some frequent bars and restaurants.Some other forms of prostitution include: "sugar daddy syndrome", "night brides", and "floating prostitutes". In some cases, porters or hotel staff acts as pimps and links between upper class Nigerians and the call girls. The aristo girls mostly serve upper class citizens and foreigners are better paid than the sex workers in brothels.
Almost two thirds of brothel and street sex workers are traders, bar girls, hair dressers or have a second type of job. Brothels are in virtually every major city in Nigeria and offer the cheapest form of service. The brothels are located in highly populated districts and slums within the city. After the lockdown period COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, due to the rise of Internet Fraud and Scams (locally called Yahoo) perpetuated by many Nigerian Youths, many young Nigerian women have also sought quick means of earning large incomes outside traditional jobs and business. Due to the continual downward spiral of the Nigerian economy, general unemployment and changing moral standards of the current generation of youths, many young women between the ages of 19 and 29 including university students have turned to prostitution or its euphemistic title "Hookup" as a means to attain self-reliance or material/luxury lifestyles. Hookup is differentiated from traditional prostitution as it is discreet, more well-paying than average jobs/business and is harder to prosecute.
A different form of prostitution known as corporate prostitution, a relatively new phenomenon and mostly limited to financial institutions began to gain notability in the 2000s. In 2004, a bankers' union threatened to go on strike due to allegations that some female staffers sleep with men for accounts. Though most financial institutions do not force women to engage in sexual activities in order to meet financial targets it is implied that many banks are not against such actions. A majority came from households within the low income bracket. The sex workers are trained by an older professional or pimp prior to commencement on the job.
Sub-Saharan Africa has about 60% of the world's population that are living with AIDS even though they only make up 10% of the population. In 2002, there was a total of 3.47 million people living with AIDS in Nigeria. Female Nigerian sex workers have a 50% greater chance of contracting HIV/AIDS.
Legal Framework and Enforcement
The criminal code is applicable in the southern part of Nigeria and it contains provisions criminalizing the offence of sexual harassment. The criminal code contains provisions on sexual harassment that can be found in sections 351to 361 of the Act.
Section 285: Whoever commits an act of gross indecency upon the person of another without his consent or by the use of force or threats compels a person to join with him in the commission of that act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.
Like the Criminal code, the penal code is applicable in the northern part of Nigeria. This has offered the states rare opportunities to amend and update their laws. The various states laws criminalize sexual harassment with very stiff punishments. Lagos is the first state to have made a law focusing on protection of victims of SGBV. However, the federal legislatures surpassed this, when they made a very innovative anti-violence law for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and other similar laws in states of the federation.
It is important to note that there are several state and federal government efforts to enact laws prohibiting sexual abuse and harassment in workplace and academic institutions, they are not yet laws.
(a) any action or circumstances which amount to demand for sexual intercourse with either a male or a female under any guise.
Nigeria has a special court (the National Industrial Court) for labour and employment matters and all other matters arising from employment. The National Industrial Court Civil Procedure Rules 2017 makes provision for sexual harassment, it states different kinds of acts and circumstances that can constitute sexual harassment in the workplace and recognizes that it is an offence for which a person can bring a claim in respect of to court.
Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that uses the penal code and sharia law also known as Islamic law. The Nigeria criminal system prohibits national and trans-national trafficking of women for commercial sex or forced labour.
The provision of the Kaduna State Penal Code law has a provision similar to that of the above stated Section 134 of Criminal Law of Lagos State.
Here's a summary of key legal points:
- Criminal Code: Applicable in southern Nigeria, criminalizes sexual harassment.
- Penal Code: Applicable in northern Nigeria, also criminalizes sexual harassment with stiff punishments.
- Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015: Federal law for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, addressing violence against persons.
Let's look at specific sections in the Penal Code.
Section 55(1)(d), subject to customs that have been recognized as lawful, allows a husband to “correct[] his wife” as long as it does not amount to “grievous hurt.” Section 55(2) goes on to state that the correction must be reasonable in kind or degree with regards to the age, physical, and mental conditions of the person being corrected.
Grievous hurt is defined in section 241 as “(a) emasculation; (b) permanent deprivation of the sight of an eye, of the hearing of an ear or the power of speech; (c) deprivation of any member or joint; (d) destruction or permanent impairing of the powers of any member or joint; (e) permanent disfiguration of the head or face; (f) fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth; (g) any hurt which endangers life or which causes the sufferer to be during the space of twenty days in severe bodily pain or unable to follow his ordinary pursuits.”
The law concerning abortion is found in sections 232. Referenced in the law as the causing of a miscarriage, abortion is only legal to save the life of the mother. Any person, including the mother, can be guilty of the offense and will be punished with up to 14 years in prison, a fine, or both. Sections 233-235 discuss the causing of a miscarriage intentionally or unintentionally through acts against the mother. These offenses also carry a penalty of imprisonment, fines, or both.
Section 282 discusses rape and specifies that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife is not rape if she has gone through puberty.
From the perspective of the law, it is clear that Nigeria takes the issue of nudity and decency seriously. However, with the ever changing times, it is important that the laws are updated to reflect the current realities of the Nigerian society.
The table below presents a summary of the applicable laws:
| Law | Applicable Region | Key Provisions |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Code | Southern Nigeria | Criminalizes sexual harassment |
| Penal Code | Northern Nigeria | Criminalizes sexual harassment with stiff punishments |
| Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 | Federal Capital Territory, Abuja | Addresses violence against persons |
| National Industrial Court Civil Procedure Rules 2017 | National | Provision for sexual harassment in the workplace |
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