The Ogun State Police Command caused a stir with a tweet on its official Twitter page on Wednesday morning. The post asserted that failing to take care of one’s family constitutes a criminal offence.

The post also cited Section 300 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, saying that fathers could be arrested and taken to court for failure to provide for the family’s upkeep.

This claim has opened a box of controversy. Some tweeps argued that cases related to the failure to provide for one’s family fall under civil matters rather than criminal offences. They noted that the section of the criminal code does not specify any punishment for such offences.

Good morning to all our dear good indigenes and residents of Ogun. Trust u had a restful night sir/ma. Dear fathers, bfor u always leave home for work, try dey drop "Raba" (Money) for madam and children for their upkeep, atal atal. No let dem come report u for our station(s).

— Ogun State Police Command (@OgunPoliceNG) July 12, 2023

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Checks by FIJ showed that the section cited by the police borders on the duty to provide necessaries. It reads that: “It is the duty of every person having charge of another who is unable by reason of age, sickness, unsoundness of mind, detention or any other cause to withdraw himself from such charge, and who is unable to provide himself with the necessaries of life, whether the charge is undertaken under a contract, or is imposed by law, or arises by reason of any act, whether lawful or unlawful, of the person who has such charge, to provide for that other person the necessaries of life; and he is held to have caused any consequences which result to the life or health of the other person by reason of any omission to perform that duty.”

Further findings by FIJ revealed that Section 301 of the Nigerian Criminal Code focuses on the duty of the head of the family. It states:

“It is the duty of every person who, as head of a family, has charge of a child under the age of fourteen years, being a member of his household, to provide the necessaries of life for such child; and he is held to have caused any consequences which result to the life or health of the child by reason of any omission to perform that duty, whether the child is helpless or not.”

Considering that the interpretation and application of laws often vary, FIJ spoke with a lawyer for a comprehensive understanding of whether Nigerian law criminalises the failure to provide for one’s family.

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Tailorson Nwani, an Ogun State-based lawyer, told FIJ that the general position of the law is that no man should be punished for any offence that the penalty is not prescribed in the criminal code.

According to Nwani, the criminal code is a relic of the country’s colonial past with many redundant laws that cannot be enforced today.

Regarding arresting fathers who fail to provide for their families, he said such matters would rarely survive in court because there is no standard definition of what providing for the family means.

“As rightly insinuated, it is a family matter that goes through family court. I have not seen in my community where a father is arrested for not providing for his family,” the lawyer said.

“Wherever such a thing happens, know that they must have gone to the family court, where an order is made and the man defaulted. That’s the only time the man can be arrested.

“We have too many laws that are as good as useless.”

In his comment on the Twitter post, Festus Ogun, another lawyer, wrote, “Typical abuse by the Nigerian police. A purely family/civil matter turned to a crime. This is even when no law mandates a man to exclusively provide for his family. It is utterly disgusting this is coming from the official handle of the police.”