16/09/2026
⚖️VAPP ACT SERIES | EPISODE 7
SECTION 7 — FRUSTRATING INVESTIGATION
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 does not only address acts of violence and other offences.
It also makes provision for what happens when someone deliberately tries to conceal an offence or frustrate its investigation and prosecution.
That is what Section 7 of the VAPP Act addresses.
But what does that look like in real life?
Let us bring it to life💥
Daniel had worked in the accounts department of a company for years.
Unknown to his employers, he had been diverting company money into an account he controlled.
Then the company began an audit.
Some transactions did not add up.
Daniel was asked to produce the documents relating to the payments.
He panicked.
That evening, he altered some of the financial records, removed some documents from the office file and deleted messages connected to the transactions.
He also warned a colleague:
“Don't mention my name if they ask you about this.”
Daniel was no longer simply trying to hide the money.
He was trying to hide the evidence.
And that takes us to a story in Scripture.
Gehazi had secretly gone after Naaman and obtained gifts through deception.
When he returned, Elisha asked him where he had been.
Gehazi answered:
“I went nowhere.”
But he had.
He had done something in secret..and then tried to cover it.
Jesus also spoke about things hidden eventually being brought into the light.
And that brings us back to Daniel.
He may have thought that deleting a message made it disappear.
He may have thought that altering a document could change what had happened.
But hiding evidence does not erase the truth.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
Section 7 provides that a person who, with intent to defraud, conceal an offence or frustrate the investigation and prosecution of offenders:
• destroys, alters, mutilates or falsifies a book or document which could serve as evidence or an exhibit; or
• omits, or is privy to the omission of, any material particular from such a document, book, dress or clothing,
commits a felony.
Upon conviction, the person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or a fine not exceeding ₦500,000, or both.
So, Daniel's problem did not end with the alleged fraud.
His deliberate attempt to alter records, remove evidence and get someone else to withhold information itself have serious legal consequences under Section 7.
The lesson is simple:
You may hide a document.
You may delete a message.
You may persuade someone to keep quiet.
But you cannot make the truth cease to be the truth by hiding it.
What do you think?
Have you ever seen a situation where someone committed a wrong and then went further to cover it up?
Let's talk about it💥