by Nwafor Thelma | May 19, 2022 | Relationships & Weddings
You may become afraid of someone due to that person pestering you, endangering your life, or simply being a nuisance, and you will need to defend yourself against that person. One of the things you’ll need to protect yourself is a restraining order. The following article explains how to get a restraining order in Nigeria.
What Is a Restraining Order?
A restraining order is a temporary order usually written and issued by the court of law for a specified time preventing the restrained party from contacting or going close to the protected party. They are often requested to help people to obtain protection.
Still, restraining demands can keep an abuser from constantly harassing or bothering you by ordering them to stay away from your home, place of employment, school, or other locations that you may continually frequent.
They are usually involved in alleged domestic violence, assault, battery, harassment, stalking, sexual assault, and many more. The restraining orders can sometimes extend to the family and household members of the protected person.
Before it reaches that stage, learn how to easily recognize an emotional abuser and what to do when someone threatens to leak your nudes.
Types of Restraining Orders
The various types of restraining orders include;
1. Temporary Restraining Order
This is an order or injunction issued to keep you safe before trial. They often last for about 7-14 days. The party must convince the judge that they will suffer immediate injury unless the order is issued.
2. Emergency Restraining Order
These types of orders are usually granted in domestic violence cases. When a police officer receives a call, he can present such an order because of immediate danger or an inability to go to the courtroom immediately.
They last 5-7 days give time to go to court to ask for a domestic violence restraining order.
3. Domestic Violence Restraining Order
A judge may issue this after a court hearing. This order usually lasts longer than emergency or temporary restraining orders sometimes for a few years.
4. No-Contact Order
This is more like a judgment because it is issued after a court hearing, and the abuser is charged with a crime. It is a punishment for a crime, and it means the abuser may not have any contact with you whatsoever, be it physically or verbally.
A no-contact order normally lasts for a short or long time, depending on the facts of your case.
Steps on How to Get a Restraining Order
1. Identify the Harassment
First, you have to determine the nature of the harassment and gather evidence to support it. For example, if it is stalking, sexual harassment, nuisance, or domestic violence.
2. Quantum of Harassment
To get a restraining order in Nigeria, you have to make sure that the reason you want one is not trivial because the law does not concern itself with trifles (small acts).
That is to say that the harassment must be such that you will be in imminent threat if the restraining order is not granted.
3. Consult a Lawyer
This is not compulsory but advisable. Consult a lawyer with relevant skills and experience. With the lawyer’s expertise, you will be able to go through a rigorous process. Narrate all the details to the lawyer without leaving the slightest detail.
This is to enable the lawyer to know the exact cause of action to take
4. Prepare the Right Documents
A lawyer will do this. The lawyer will prepare all revenant documents, relying on facts provided by the victim, and all necessary documents will be filed into court.
For example, an application for a domestic violence restraining order will be filed along with an affidavit and be submitted to a court registrar. They must within 72 hours, offer the same to the court.
Although the lawyer owes a professional duty to their client to guide them through the processes, be sure to be guided by the lawyer on any steps taken and ask questions. You can disengage with the lawyer at any time.
Suppose you do not want to engage the services of a lawyer as a result of financial troubles. If that is the case, you can seek assistance from non-governmental organizations, Pro bono lawyers (lawyers who offer free legal services), women’s shelters, and many more. You can get one by yourself by simply approaching the High court with an application supported by an affidavit showing prima facie (reasonable evidence) that you might be in danger. This is a sworn statement from you in which you tell your story and provide all the facts showing why you think a restraining order should be granted.
This includes describing each specific act of harassment, how the harassment has made you feel, and details of any contact you’ve had with the police about it; then, a notice will be sent to the harasser along with your affidavit.
The court can then grant an interim (for a short time) restraining order applicable throughout the federation. A substantive (main) suit can be filed afterward.
Here are some organizations that may be of help if you are having trouble visiting the high court.
Organizations That Help You Get A Restraining Order in Nigeria
1. LawyerUp Nigeria
Managed by a team of enthusiastic young lawyers who educate the average Nigerians about their rights and duties, LawyerUp Nigeria also provides pro bono services to Nigerians who need them.
2. Dorothy Njemanze Foundation
This foundation provides first response services to sexual gender-based violence and domestic violence victims.
3. Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS)
The human rights law service (HURILAWS) is a non-profit service dedicated to providing public interest and human rights law services to advance the legal protection of human rights.
Conclusion
How to get a restraining order in Nigeria is not as difficult as it sounds, especially when you have a professional lawyer helping to do the work or one of the organizations assisting. It can also be nerve-wracking, but you have to calm down and trust the process.
If the following information in this article was helpful or there is a need for clarification, please kindly notify me in the comment section.
by Nwafor Thelma | May 2, 2022 | Personal Growth
Photos of someone who is fully or partially naked are known as nudes. Things can go wrong after you’ve shared photographs with someone you trust. The person to whom you sent them may threaten to post these images of you online out of rage or for another reason, or they may be distributed to friends.
In other cases, the wrong person might get their hands on your photos and try to blackmail you this is sometimes referred to as “sextortion” and is illegal.
In 2021, a certain Zangina was caught in Keffi after allegedly blackmailing a minor threatening to release her nudes unless she come to Keffi to have sex with him.
Nude leaking is a type of ‘image-based sexual abuse’ known as revenge porn (legal term). This is a problem that affects people of all ages. However, incidences involving teenagers to people in their mid-twenties have been the most frequently recorded.
So here is what to do if someone threatens to leak your nudes. Before we get into that, one piece of advice to avoid all of this inconvenience is to never, ever post your nude. A relationship does not guarantee a lifetime of happiness, which is why you should never trust anyone with your naked photo. A failed relationship can lead to unstable behavior, and revealing your nude may be part of the deal.
What to Do If Someone Threatens to Leak Your Nudes
1. Do Not Blame Yourself
The first thought that comes to mind is to blame yourself for sending the nudes, but that isn’t fair. Just because you send someone a nude doesn’t mean they have your permission to share it. You put your faith in them to keep your personal information private. They betrayed your trust and put you in a dangerous position. Remember that ‘image-based abuse’ refers to sharing (or threatening to share) someone’s photos or videos without their permission. It’s a very serious problem. It’s not your fault, and you’re not alone.
2. Screenshot Proof or Record of Evidence
What to do if someone threatens to leak your nudes is to get proof either by a way of screenshot or by recording. If you are threatened, this is something you must do immediately. When something like this happens, it’s easy to want to forget about it and go on, but screenshotting the threat can provide documentation of the abuse and be valuable if you need to report it or take legal action against the individual who threatened you.
Make a list of as much information as you can on the threat (or threats). If you’ve been threatened by text messages, make sure to grab screenshots as proof.
Take down the name and contact information of everyone who overheard or witnessed the individual threatening you. If you chose to pursue legal action, they could be a witness.
3. Tell a Trusted Adult or a Friend
If you have someone in your life that you completely trust, you should inform them. We understand that you may be concerned about being judged or having rumors spread about you. However, talking about it is the most effective way to safeguard your mental health and find a solution. They may be able to refer you to the most trustworthy adult in your life who can empathize, be nonjudgmental, and help you through this difficult time.
4. Report to the Police or NGO
Another thing to do when someone threatens to leak your nudes is to report it to the police or NGO. If someone is blackmailing you by demanding money, sex, or anything else, you should contact the authorities right away and provide evidence of the blackmail. The police, on the other hand, may treat the issue with impunity, which is why you should seek out an NGO willing to take up the case.
Some NGOs that deal with this issue in the North include:
1. House of Hilkiah Foundation: An NGO based in Markurdi Benue dedicated to the promotion of human welfare and social reforms
2. Goal Prime Organization Nigeria: It is located in Maiduguri and strives to make life easier for vulnerable women.
3. Sexual Awareness and Response Initiative: This NGO is located in Abuja and they deal with any form of sexual abuse which including when someone is threatening to leak your nudes which is an act of image-based sexual abuse.
You can also call these Police hotline numbers if you’re faced with blackmail;
- 1. Adamawa: 08089671313
- 2. Kano: 08123821575, 08032419754
- 3. Kaduna: 08123822284
- 4. Katsina: 08075391255, 08075391250
- 5. Zamfara: 08106580123
- 6. Abuja: 08032003913
Blackmail is always handled as a criminal violation so you have the option of hiring a lawyer to help you deal with the threat. If there is so much value associated with the nude that you risk losing your reputation, then you must take this step.
If the person is unknown, you may need to hire a private investigator, which will be more expensive. Again, if found, the offender is likely to face jail time and may even be forced to compensate you for your losses.
In Nigeria, there have been numerous internet revenge porn cases, particularly in recent years of internet upheaval. The Nigerian enactments covering the subject of revenge porn are the Criminal Code Statute and the Cyber-crimes (Prohibition, Prevention) Act 2015, but the cybercrimes act covers the issue comprehensively, particularly in Section 24 Paragraph B, which specifies the penalty, which is a fine of not more than 7 million Naira or imprisonment for a term, not more than 3 years, or both.
From the foregoing, the Nigerian legislation prohibits sharing of such contents without the consent of the other person captured on it, the legislation that pertains close to the matter of revenge porn has covered the area fully. It can be confidently argued that under Section 24 of CYBERCRIMES (prohibition, Prevention Act 2015), revenge porn is a punishable offense so if anyone threatens to leak your nude you are covered by this section.
Should I Talk to the Person?
You might feel compelled to respond to the person who is threatening you right away and beg them to stop. Keep in mind that each circumstance is unique. If the individual who is threatening you is a stranger, you should report them rather than respond.
If the individual is an ex or someone you know, consider what you might gain from speaking with them. You are free to approach them and ask them to stop or remove the photograph if you feel safe doing so. However, you should not feel obligated to do so; you can simply report it without contacting them personally.
Conclusion
The problem that victims of revenge porn have is that they are unable to disclose such cases to the appropriate authorities because they are afraid of being judged and ridiculed in public. When confronted with such problems and the images or files being spread online, the police should be alerted or legal advice sought on the next course of action.
Many revenge porn incidents have been recorded as a result of the widespread use of social media in this day and time, but only a few people are aware of how to combat this threat.
Because the world is changing on a daily basis, regulations should be enacted to keep up. These provisions should be re-evaluated by legislators to ensure that they are still relevant. Let me know if any of these helped in the comments.
