29/08/2026
DID YOU KNOW?
Attacking someone who has stopped attacking you could be a crime by law on you?
Imagine this.
Someone ataks you and starts heting you. You defend yourself, then the person suddenly stops, turns around and starts walking away. You get angry, chase after them and start heting them back.
Are you still acting in self defence? Not necessarily.
Under Nigerian criminal law, self defence is generally about using force that is reasonably necessary to protect yourself from an unlawful attack.
That means the fact that someone attacked you first does not automatically give you the right to attack them afterwards.
There is an important difference between:
DEFENDING YOURSELF and TAKING REVENGE.
If someone is actively attacking you and you use reasonable force to stop the attack or protect yourself, the circumstances may justify self defence but if the attack has ended, the person is no longer attacking you and is walking away and you then chase them and beat them because you are angry about what happened, that may no longer be self defence.
It could instead expose you to criminal liability for the force you used.
BUT HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART.
You don’t necessarily have to wait until you are physically hit before defending yourself.
If an attack is still happening or appears immediately imminent, reasonable defensive force may still be justified depending on the circumstances.
So the important question is not simply who hit first?
The better question is was the force I used reasonably necessary to protect myself from the attack at that moment?
SELF DEFENCE IS NOT A LICENCE FOR REVENGE.
If the danger has passed, chasing someone down to punish them is a very different legal situation from defending yourself while the danger exists.
Know your rights, know the limits of your rights.
Would you have thought that attacking someone after they have stopped attacking you could take you outside self defence?