Sexual Exploitation and Vulnerability of Followers in Nigerian Religious Circles: A Legal Approach

Abstract

Sexual exploitation in religious circles is often underreported, especially in contemporary Nigeria. This includes the misuse of power and abuse of fiduciary relationships, prompting calls for reviewing the existing frameworks that regulate religious activities. There have been several news reports about religious leaders involved in the sexual abuse of their followers in various parts of Nigerian society due to the special trust that the congregation has in them. Hence, the objective of the study is to examine the sexual abuse of fiduciary relationships between religious leaders and their followers in Nigeria. The doctrinal legal research method is adopted. The reasoning for utilising the approach was to establish the credibility of the findings on the impacts of sexual exploitation and the vulnerability of followers in Nigerian religious circles with the legal panacea to the conundrum in our society. The social contract theory and utilitarian theory of law are utilised to model the study. The justification is that the law should be used as a tool of social engineering to increase human happiness and combat sexual exploitation. This involves content analysis; primary and secondary data were sources of reference. In essence, news articles, textbooks, peer-reviewed journals, and internet source materials were utilised to extract information. In conclusion, the study finds that followers who are victims of sexual harassment or abuse are ignorant of the true teachings of God and erroneously put their trust in their leaders. It is recommended, among others, that society desist from glorifying religious leaders and seek the true teachings of God.