By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
  • Home
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    United Nations
    4th International Conference On Financing For Development Delivers Renewed Hope And Action For Sustainable Development
    4 months ago
    The African Development Bank and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) scale up drive for sustainable urbanization in Africa
    AfDB, UN-Habitat Scale Up Drive For Sustainable Urbanisation In Africa
    4 months ago
    UN
    North Africa: Green Climate Fund Approves Record $300m For FAO-designed Projects In Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, The Sahel
    4 months ago
    UNICEF
    How Wars Across Middle East, North Africa Affecting Children – UNICEF
    4 months ago
    UNDP
    UN Development Programme Welcomes Historic Deal On Sustainable Development Even Amidst Global Turmoil
    4 months ago
  • Africa
    Africa
    Show More
    Top News
    Human Rights Watch Kicks Over 10-Year Jail Term Giving Burundian Journalist
    3 years ago
    Democracy In Africa In Crisis, Afrobarometer Warns
    3 years ago
    Hopesalive Initiative for Africa
    Queen Temitope Enitan-Ogunwusi Receives African Award In Ethiopia
    2 years ago
    Latest News
     South Africa’s Think 20: Experts Address How Africa Can Bridge Digital Divide And Achieving Financial Inclusion
    1 month ago
    U.S. Africa Command Commander Visits West Africa, Underscores Partnership In Addressing Evolving Terrorism Threat
    1 month ago
    West Africa Regional Preparatory Workshop For COP30 On Climate Change Opens In Dakar
    1 month ago
    Systemic Racism Against Africans And People Of African Descent In Criminal Justice Systems Is Pervasive
    1 month ago
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Nobody Can Hijack Our Mandate, Vows Osun Gov, Adeleke
    3 years ago
    PDP To Osun People: Oyetola Is A ‘Political Leprosy’, Run For Cover
    3 years ago
    UI Alumni Association Hails Okowa’s Giant Strides In Delta State
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Ex-Pres. Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant, Dr. Dudafa Dumps PDP For APC
    2 weeks ago
    Senate President Akpabio Engages Young Progressives in Mentorship Conversation at the Youth House
    3 weeks ago
    Minister of Women Affairs Visits APC Youth House To Mark International Day Of Girl Child
    3 weeks ago
    EU, ADC Parley: Calls for Electoral Reforms To Guarantee Free, Fair, Credible Polls In Nigeria
    4 weeks ago
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
    News
    Show More
    Top News
    Pa Abdulfatah Amoo Ayanwale
    Pa Ayanwale Dies At 76, Fidau Prayers Holds 8 August
    2 years ago
    Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Begins Construction Of First Flyover In Akure
    2 years ago
    Celebration Of Life: Reverend Adewumi Jegede Of Later House Of God Assembly Buried Amid Pomp
    1 year ago
    Latest News
    All Eyes On Nigeria, As Lagos Set To Host Groundbreaking Giving Tuesday Festival On 2 December
    4 days ago
    Alleged N532m Debt: Court Orders Bank To Takes Over Abudu Family’s Firm
    6 days ago
    Popoola-Taiwo Legal Practitioners, Shipper’s Council Resolve 3-years Dispute Between Logistics Firms Via ADR
    1 week ago
    Final Journey of Ezinne Juliana Anyanwu To Begin January 2026 In Nguru
    1 week ago
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
    Entertainment
    Show More
    Top News
    Temi Otedola Makes Her Stage Debut In Motherland The Musical
    3 years ago
    Discover Exciting Programmes with Ease on GOtv
    3 years ago
    Nigerian Afrobeat Artiste WONDA Drops Captivating Summer Anthem ‘Ibiza’
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    GOtv Stream vs. Traditional TV: Why Viewers Are Loving the Flexibility
    1 month ago
    Securing Africa’s Digital Future: Entertainment in Safe Hands
    1 month ago
    BBNaija S10: Joanna, Mide, and Isabella Clash as Denari and Tracy Exit the House
    2 months ago
    Akamai Adaptive Media Player 2: Bitmovin And Akamai Set New Streaming Standard
    2 months ago
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
    Lifestyle
    Show More
    Top News
    Ambassador Raffy Bello Greets Imperial Majesty, Ooni Enitan-Ogunwusi, As Olojo Festival Begins In Ile-Ife
    1 month ago
    Leadership
    CEO Shares 3 Qualities Every Effective Leader Has
    2 years ago
    Lagos SWAN Holds Cultural Sports And Traditional Fashion Fiesta
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Faith On The Move: Legion of Mary Lights Up Owerri With Inspiring October Devotion Procession
    4 days ago
    The Day Mourners Rebelled in Church By Babafemi Ojudu
    3 weeks ago
    Ambassador Raffy Bello Greets Imperial Majesty, Ooni Enitan-Ogunwusi, As Olojo Festival Begins In Ile-Ife
    1 month ago
    Preserving African Culture: Polaris Bank , Chivita, And Danone Support CIKDAS’ Youth Literary Initiative
    2 months ago
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
    BusinessShow More
    Financial Action Task Force Removes Nigeria From Grey List
    6 days ago
    Unity Bank Shareholders Approve Merger With Providus Bank
    1 month ago
    Yomi Joseph Digital Pr Launches 360° Marketing Solutions To Transform Brands Into Industry Leaders
    1 month ago
    Gov Abiodun Showcases Ogun Investment Opportunities At AfCFTA In Algeria
    2 months ago
    Intra-African Trade Fair
    Nigeria To Host Intra-African Trade Fair In 2027
    2 months ago
  • Health
    Health
    Show More
    Top News
    NCDC Activates Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre In Nigeria
    3 years ago
    UNAIDS: Fully Financing HIV Response In Africa Will Save Millions Of Lives
    3 years ago
    How To Avoid Urinary Tract Infections During Sex
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Nigerian Academy Of Pharmacy Inducts 14 New Fellows
    2 weeks ago
    2025 World Pharmacist Day: Lagos Takes Healthcare To Ikorodu Communities
    1 month ago
    World Heart Day: Adopt Healthy Food Policies, CAPPA Tasks FG, States
    1 month ago
    Lagos Takes Fight Against HIV To Communities
    1 month ago
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Reading: IWD 2025: Declare Femicide a National Emergency, CAPPA, Others Tell Tinubu
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
Aa
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
  • Politics
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Health
  • More
Search
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
  • Health
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Independent News Express > Blog > Metro > IWD 2025: Declare Femicide a National Emergency, CAPPA, Others Tell Tinubu
MetroNews

IWD 2025: Declare Femicide a National Emergency, CAPPA, Others Tell Tinubu

Last updated: 2025/03/07 at 11:06 AM
8 months ago
Share
SHARE

*Senator Natasha’s Suspension Mischievous, say CSOs

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) 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.”

They also weighed in on the ongoing controversy between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio and condemned her suspension by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

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 and prevent them from realising their full potential.

Speaking further, they stated: “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.”

“Femicide, which manifests as the deliberate killing of women and girls simply because of their gender, has recorded an alarming growth in recent times. 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. Countless others remain unheard, their stories buried by silence, institutional neglect, and impunity.

Meanwhile, many of these killings have been carried out by those closest to them – intimate partners, family members and trusted relatives,” said Ngozi-Juba Nwosu, Executive Director, VisionSpring Initiatives.

These attacks on women, the statement noted, form part of a deeper crisis that demands urgent and decisive government intervention.

“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,” said Betty Abah, Executive Director, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE).

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.”

Additionally, the prevalence of ritual killings across the country persists, often justified by superstitious beliefs and wealth-seeking practices.

“This is why we welcomed the National Film and Videos Censors Board’s (NFVCB) historic 2024 legislation prohibiting the glamourisation of smoking and ritual killings in Nollywood films. This policy shift aligns with our longstanding campaign to cleanse our screens of narratives that normalise and reinforce an unhealthy culture. The Regulation, though a step in the right direction, is far from sufficient,” said Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation.

The CSOs stressed that tackling the crisis of gender-based violence, ritual killings and femicide requires a multi-layered approach that goes beyond film regulations.

“Existing laws, such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015, must be rigorously enforced, ensuring that perpetrators of femicide and other forms of violence face real consequences.”

While the VAPP Act is a critical legal instrument designed to eliminate violence in both private and public life, its impact remains limited due to lack of political will, weak enforcement mechanisms, and insufficient advocacy. The CSOs warned that unless decisive action is taken, the situation will worsen.

They called on the Nigerian government at both the federal and state levels, alongside key stakeholders such as the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and the National Orientation Agency (NOA), to acknowledge the gravity of this crisis and demonstrate genuine commitment to upholding Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which guarantees the right to life for all individuals.

They called for increased allocation of resources to strengthen protection mechanisms for women, the creation of targeted programs to address economic inequalities, and strategic support to equip more women with the skills requisite for financial independence.

They also requested the establishment of national emergency hotlines and the provision of safe shelters for those at risk.

More critically, they called for a radical overhaul of key institutions, particularly the Nigeria Police Force, which has long served 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. Without a total reorientation of law enforcement and the criminal justice system, violence against women will remain state-sanctioned, and the cycle of abuse will continue unbroken,” Ibeh added

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio

The organisations also weighed in on the ongoing controversy between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

They described her suspension as “mischievously hasty, absurd, and most depressingly, a well-executed orchestrated mockery of International Women’s Day in Nigeria.

“Her six-month suspension is not only a targeted witch hunt and outright political purge of dissent but also a brazen abuse of power, robbing her constituents of their right to representation. This pattern of legislative repression has already been declared unconstitutional in Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege v. Senate & 2 Ors (2018).”


The organisations demanded a public hearing and the establishment of an independent panel—comprising impartial citizens, legal experts, and civil society groups—to conduct a transparent investigation into the grave allegations at the heart of this dispute.

Whilst emphasising that the National Assembly is not a self-serving institution but a body accountable to the people, the CSOs lamented that since the start of the controversy, the responses from both male and female legislators have been revealing—not in their demand for due process or justice, but in their swift condemnation of Senator Natasha herself.

“Rather than upholding justice and democratic principles, as well as insisting on an independent inquiry, they have closed ranks, reinforcing a political order that defines women’s participation in politics as conditional, precarious, and ultimately disposable.”

This reaction, the CSOs observed, reflects a system that structures women’s political existence to endure abuse, coercion, and humiliation lest they be cast as weak, disruptive, or unfit for the ruthless terrain of power.

“Women in politics are expected to endure violence and suppression in silence, their subjugation repackaged as a test of resilience and loyalty to the establishment. Any refusal to accept this unspoken rule is met with swift retribution, as seen in the political elite’s collective dismissal of Natasha’s allegations.

“With only a handful of female politicians occupying key positions, and even so, confined to the periphery of decision-making, the urgent task is not just to increase their numbers but to break the very structures that render their presence symbolic at best.

“This requires building strong democratic institutions that do not encourage the systemic exclusion of women in political spaces,” they concluded.

Signed

  1. Betty Abah, Executive Director, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE)
  2. Ngozi-Juba Nwosu, Executive Director, VisionSpring Initiative.
  3. Zikora Ibeh, Asst. Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation

You Might Also Like

All Eyes On Nigeria, As Lagos Set To Host Groundbreaking Giving Tuesday Festival On 2 December

Alleged N532m Debt: Court Orders Bank To Takes Over Abudu Family’s Firm

Popoola-Taiwo Legal Practitioners, Shipper’s Council Resolve 3-years Dispute Between Logistics Firms Via ADR

Final Journey of Ezinne Juliana Anyanwu To Begin January 2026 In Nguru

Receivership: Appeal Stalls Hearing Of Kepco Energy, Others’ Suit Against Ecobank, Others

TAGGED: International Women’s Day 2025
INadminNG March 7, 2025 March 7, 2025
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Print
Previous Article Lagos Lawmakers Arrive Court Over Speakership Tussle
Next Article Badagry United Triumph Over Customs FC At Novelty Match
about us

Independent News Express (iNews Express), a publication of 4Ds Nigeria Limited, is birthed out of the desires of the founding fathers to report News as it is.

We value Professionalism, Excellence, Service, Creativity and Integrity.

The Company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Newsletters
  • Deal

Categories

Find Us on Socials

© Independent News Express. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?