Giwa Ihesha
Member
CAN A MAN BE ARRESTED FOR SLEEPING WITH ANOTHER MAN’S WIFE? THE LAW MAY SURPRISE YOU!Let us ask a question many people will argue about.
A married woman willingly sleeps with another man. Her husband discovers it and reports the man to the police.
Can the police arrest the man simply because the woman is married?
Before you start insulting the man or defending the husband, let us separate what people consider immoral from what the law actually punishes.
In Nigeria, adultery is not automatically a criminal offence everywhere in the country. The applicable law and the location where the alleged act occurred matter.
Under the Criminal Code applicable in many southern states, adultery is not generally a standalone criminal offence. However, certain provisions of the Penal Code applicable in some northern states criminalise adultery, and Sharia criminal law may also apply in some jurisdictions, subject to the relevant legal requirements.
This means that the mere fact that a woman is married does not automatically make every man who sleeps with her guilty of a criminal offence.
But here is where the argument gets interesting!
If a married woman willingly cheats on her husband, should the law punish the man alone? What about the woman who participated willingly?
And if the law does not criminalise the conduct in a particular jurisdiction, can the husband insist that the police must arrest the man simply because he feels betrayed?
The law is not supposed to operate based on anger, public opinion or a husband's desire for revenge. Criminal liability must be established under the applicable law.
Let us hear your opinion.
Should sleeping with another person's wife be a criminal offence throughout Nigeria, or should it remain a private marital matter unless another offence is committed?
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