As the world marks International Women’s Day 2025, civil society organizations like Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), and VisionSpring Initiatives, have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare the widespread violence against women and the escalating femicide crisis in Nigeria “a national emergency and threat to national security.”
In a joint statement issued on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025, the organisations emphasised that this year’s theme, “Accelerate Action,” speaks to the urgency of dismantling entrenched structures of violence and patriarchy, and oppressive norms that continue to endanger the lives of women.
“Despite Nigerian women’s historical and ongoing contributions to national development, they remain systematically undermined, subjected to unchecked violence, and forced to live in fear in many instances,” they said.
Interrogating the factors that promote gender-based violence and femicide in Nigeria, the organisations identified lack of access to education, insecurity, institutional misogyny—reinforced by weak legal frameworks and poor law enforcement—as key enablers.
The statement further expressed that “Domestic and intimate partner violence remains rampant, fuelled by cultural and religious beliefs that uphold male dominance and discourage women from exiting abusive relationships. Economic disempowerment further exacerbates the crisis, as poverty and limited access to resources often leave women vulnerable to exploitation and fatal violence.”
Ngozi-Juba Nwosu, Executive Director of VisionSpring Initiatives, revealed that the deliberate killing of women and girls simply because of their gender has seen a troubling rise recently.
“Since the start of 2025, nearly 30 women have suffered gruesome murders, but these are only the cases that made it to the public eye,” she noted.
Betty Abah, Executive Director, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), noted that “Women constitute about 49.5 percent of Nigeria’s population—no society can prosper when nearly half its citizens live in perpetual fear of extermination.”
“These reprehensible attacks should unsettle every person with a conscience. Women are the backbone of economies and entire communities. When they are constantly under attack, our nation suffers. Women constitute about 49.5 percent of Nigeria’s population—no society can prosper when nearly half its citizens live in perpetual fear of extermination,”
Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation, welcomed the National Film and Videos Censors Board’s 2024 legislation prohibiting the glamourisation of smoking and ritual killings in Nollywood films, describing it as “a step in the right direction” but “far from sufficient.”
The CSOs called for increased resource allocation to strengthen protection mechanisms for women, creation of targeted programs to address economic inequalities, the establishment of national emergency hotlines, and provision of safe shelters for those at risk.
They also demanded a radical overhaul of key institutions, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, which they described as “an enforcer of institutional misogyny rather than a protector of women’s rights.”
“Too often, reports of gender-based violence are dismissed as ‘family matters’, allowing perpetrators to walk free while survivors are left to suffer in silence and shame,” Ibeh added