T he Lagos State Government is sending a clear message to husbands: paying bride price does not give you the right to force your wife into sex. Speaking on Monday at the launch of the Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness Month, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, warned that any man who forces his wife into sex without her consent risks life imprisonment under state law. The event was organized by the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA. Martins explained that while Nigerian law does not classify forced sex within marriage as rape, Lagos State takes a different stance.  Under the Lagos Criminal Law, the offence is called “sexual assault by penetration.” He said if a husband ignores his wife’s refusal during a disagreement and goes ahead to force her, he can be arrested and prosecuted. The maximum punishment is life in prison. “When there is a problem between a husband and wife and she says no, that decision must be respected,” Martins said. “If ...

P resident Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that 21 people abducted in Kogi State last week have been rescued alive. The group includes 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps and 6 other Nigerians. They were freed on Sunday in the forests of Ofu Local Government Area following a joint operation by the military, police, DSS and local vigilantes. In his statement, the President said the victims 8 men and 13 women are receiving medical care and will soon be reunited with their families. “I am delighted to receive the news that the fifteen members of the National Youth Service Corps and six other innocent and law-abiding Nigerians abducted last week in Kogi State have regained their freedom,” Tinubu said. Although the rescue was successful, the President said the operation is not over. He ordered security agencies to keep going until every suspect linked to the abduction is arrested. “Those responsible will face the full weight of the law, and our security agencies will pursue every...

T he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is holding up a mirror to itself. Three years into his tenure, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede on Monday announced that the agency has dismissed more than 40 of its own officers for corruption and financial malpractice. He also confirmed that at least five others are currently facing prosecution in court. Olukoyede made the disclosure in Abuja during a media briefing to mark his stewardship at the commission’s headquarters. He said the decision was not easy, but necessary if the anti-graft body wants to keep its moral authority. “In the last two and a half to three years, I have approved the dismissal of over 40 staff on account of corruption and financial malpractice. More than five are being prosecuted right now,” he said.  Some of those cases, he explained, have already entered the court record and are open for public viewing. Others are still being processed, with case files being prepared for prosecution. The chairman was blunt about w...