Writing for the PUNCH Newspaper, Biodun Busari, in this report, sheds light on the heart-wrenching realities of femicide, exposing the brutal and senseless murders of women in a relentless wave of unprovoked violence. He writes that these heinous acts are perpetuated and enabled by a deeply flawed judicial system, one that fails to adequately address the uniquely gendered nature of such crimes, leaving victims’ families to mourn their loss in a society that seems to turn a blind eye to their suffering
“Nnem, Ije di egbuemu o!”—translated as, “Mother, the journey of marriage has killed me”—were the heart-wrenching, agonising screams of Chioma Nwana, echoing through the night after her husband, Nwana, doused her with fuel and set her ablaze on the evening of January 21, 2025.
The barbaric act took place in their home at Eziezekew village, Abagana, in Anambra State.
This gruesome act followed a bitter confrontation over suspected infidelity.
Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, Chioma, a mother of six, succumbed to the unbearable pain of severe burns.
In an eerie twist, her husband later walked into the Abagana Divisional Police Station, confessing to the heinous crime that ended his wife’s life in an act of unspeakable violence.
On December 24, 2024, tragedy struck in the Nsokkara area of Ezza South Local Government, Ebonyi State, when Joshua Nwafor allegedly savagely beat his wife, Charity, to death over a tuber of yam.
The shocking incident stemmed from a simple domestic disagreement: while Nwafor insisted that the yam be cooked, his wife preferred to roast it.
According to the State Police Public Relations Officer, Joshua Ukandu, in a fit of uncontrollable rage, Nwafor dragged Charity into their home, locked the door, and mercilessly assaulted her until she died.
In another chilling incident, a man residing in the Ipaja area of Lagos, Sunday Bakare, was arrested for allegedly beating his wife, Habibat, to death. It was reported that the woman had endured years of domestic abuse.
Her brother, Lookman, during an interview with PUNCH Metro, recounted seeing his sister and her husband riding past him on a motorcycle in the early hours of the morning. Shockingly, just an hour later, he was informed of her sudden death.
While confirming the tragedy, Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer said the case was being handled by the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.
Ugly statistics
These heart-wrenching events underscore the devastating consequences of unchecked domestic violence, where the lives of women are extinguished in the most unimaginable and senseless ways.
This phenomenon, known as femicide—the most extreme form of violence against women and girls—continues to pervade societies globally.
In 2023 alone, an estimated 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed worldwide. Startlingly, over 60 per cent of these victims—more than 51,000—were murdered by intimate partners or family members, according to a joint report by UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The organisation revealed that this grim statistic translates to one woman or girl being killed every 10 minutes, or 140 women and girls losing their lives each day.
Femicide, with its profound social and economic repercussions, remains largely underreported and undocumented in Nigeria.
The report further highlighted that Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicide in 2023, followed by the Americas and Oceania.
More bite the dust
On October 4, 2024, the quiet streets of Elepe in Ikorodu, Lagos, were rocked by a chilling tragedy – the alleged killing of Olajumoke Olaniyi, who was six months pregnant, by her husband Motunrayo.
In a blind rage, the man stabbed his wife multiple times before locking her in their apartment at Amazing Grace Estate and setting it ablaze, reducing their matrimonial home to ashes.
According to neighbours, the couple’s six-month-old marriage had been fraught with tension and strife, particularly when Olajumoke was three months pregnant.
They revealed that Olaniyi’s increasingly erratic behaviour was fuelled by baseless accusations of infidelity, even claiming at one point that the unborn child belonged to his brother.
Lagos State Police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed that investigators discovered Olajumoke’s charred remains in the burnt apartment.
He said the body showed clear signs of violent trauma, particularly around her abdomen, painting a grim picture of the brutality she endured.
In a similarly harrowing incident, Nasarawa State was shaken to its core in mid-January 2025 by the gruesome murder of 24-year-old National Youth Service Corps member, Salome Adaidu.
Her alleged boyfriend, Timileyin Ajayi, was intercepted by residents near a church, and a horrifying discovery was made—Salome’s severed head was concealed in his bag.
Fatal stabbing
Similarly, in March 2024, a tragic incident unfolded in Ondo State when Fatai Abdullahi, stabbed his wife, Morenike Folayode, to death following an argument.
The fatal altercation stemmed from ongoing tensions between the couple over Morenike’s occasional visits to her ex-husband’s residence to see her child.
Abdullahi, consumed by jealousy and anger over his wife’s visits, escalated the situation to a horrifying level.
He attacked and stabbed Morenike with a pair of scissors, stabbing her to death, and then proceeded to burn her body.
Ondo State Police spokesperson, Funmilayo Odunlami, revealed that Abdullahi, shockingly, took pictures of his deceased wife before raising the alarm.
“Further investigation revealed that the injuries on the deceased were suspected to have been caused by stabbing, with wounds found on her stomach and neck,” Odunlami stated.
Like roasted games
The killing of women in gruesome and dehumanising ways has become an alarming trend. These chilling acts are not exclusive to husbands; bachelors, too, have employed fire as a tool of destruction, reducing their victims to ashes as though they were nothing more than hunted games. This disturbing pattern reflects not only the heinousness of these crimes but also a society grappling with unchecked violence against women.
Among the litany of such tragedies was the brutal killing of Sa’adatu Ibrahim in Kano by her boyfriend, Abdullahi Idris.
In July 2024, Idris was arraigned before a Kano State Sharia Court for setting Sa’adatu ablaze after she rejected his marriage proposal—despite their relationship lasting only seven days.
Equally harrowing was the fate of Hannah Saliu, a sex worker who met her untimely and barbaric end in June 2022 at Alaba Rago, Ojo Local Government Area, Lagos State.
Saliu, who had welcomed a male customer with her usual warmth, would never have imagined that this encounter would mark the end of her life.
After providing her services for an agreed fee of N1,000, the customer left, but Saliu discovered that her N5,000 was missing.
She confronted him, accusing him of theft, which sparked a heated argument. The altercation escalated when the man summoned his friends, who stormed Saliu’s room under the guise of searching for the money.
What they found was not the missing money but a Quran beneath her pillow. Enraged by the discovery, they accused her of desecrating the holy book due to her line of work.
What followed was a scene of unimaginable cruelty: the mob beat Saliu to death and, as if her murder wasn’t heinous enough, they set her lifeless body ablaze, reducing her to ashes in an act of senseless barbarity.
These incidents are stark reminders of the perilous reality faced by women, where love, rejection, or mere livelihood can become fatal triggers in the hands of violent men.
The use of fire in these crimes adds a horrifying dimension, signifying not just a desire to kill but an intent to utterly obliterate the victims, leaving behind only ashes and anguish.
Raped, killed in BRT
Nigerians woke to the heartbreaking news of the barbaric rape and murder of 22-year-old fashion designer, Bamise Ayanwola, who had boarded a Lagos State-owned Bus Rapid Transit at Chevron Bus Stop in Lekki on February 26, 2022.
The bus was a late evening service driven by Andrew Ominikoron and Bamise, who was on her way from work, was alone at the time of boarding.
The driver, Ominikoron, was later charged with multiple offences, including rape, sexual assault, and murder.
According to him, after picking up three male passengers at Agungi Bus Stop, they reportedly held him at gunpoint and instructed him to drive to Carter Bridge, rather than the usual route.
He claimed that the men then dragged Bamise out of the bus, assaulted her sexually, and pushed her off the moving vehicle.
Ominikoron stated that the men fled after the attack, and he continued driving.
However, the details presented by Ominikoron were questioned, especially as investigations revealed discrepancies in his account.
Prior to her death, Bamise had sent a video to a friend, saying she felt unsafe on the bus.
Her body was later found with signs of violent trauma, and it was evident that she had been assaulted before being murdered.
The police investigation and court proceedings revealed a complex web of events, with the bus driver’s involvement in the crime coming into question, as well as possible collusion with the other passengers.
Gang-raped, stabbed to death
Two years earlier, precisely on June 1, 2020, another horrific tragedy unfolded that left the nation in shock.
Barakat Bello, an 18-year-old student of the Department of Science Laboratory Technology at the Federal College of Animal Health and Production in Ibadan, Oyo State, was gang-raped and viciously stabbed by four hoodlums at Akinyele Kara Market, along the Old Oyo Road in Ibadan.
Barakat’s younger sister was the one who discovered her body covered in horrifying marks from the savage attack.
Her distraught father, Kasimu Bello, recalled the agonising moment when he was notified of his daughter’s death – a moment he said his family’s world was forever shattered.
Appalling women’s fatalities
These murders serve as tragic reminders of the pervasive and escalating violence faced by women in Nigeria.
It is both tragic and deeply disturbing that the country is still grappling with the crisis of femicide.
These horrific acts not only shatter lives but also highlight the pervasive danger women face at the hands of men they know and strangers alike.
The DOHS Cares Foundation, a prominent women’s rights group, revealed that 133 femicide cases were reported across Nigeria from January 1 to December 31, 2024.
Disturbingly, teenage girls were among the victims of these brutal killings.
The foundation’s Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Ololade Ajayi, while speaking about the tragic reality of these deaths in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, explained that they are a grim reflection of the deep-rooted culture of violence in Nigeria society.
“Domestic violence is a significant contributor to femicide, where repeated abuse can lead to eventual fatal outcomes,” she said. “A woman may not die immediately from one incident of violence, but the accumulation of physical abuse can lead to death, making it a form of femicide.”
Human rights activists say the unrelenting nature of this violence underscores the need for urgent action to protect women and address the root causes of the menace.
Patriarchal sentiment
Experts say the disturbing tales of men slaughtering women out of jealousy, frustration, selfishness, and anger are stark manifestations of deep-seated misogyny fuelled by patriarchy.
Misogyny, defined as prejudice against women, is widely understood to stem from a male-dominated society where such sentiments are often embedded within individual behaviours, broader systems, and cultural norms.
This pervasive disdain for women has dire consequences, one of which is femicide—the intentional killing of women and girls by their intimate partners, family members, or acquaintances.
In Nigeria, the brutal reality of femicide is compounded by a society that is deeply entrenched in patriarchal structures, where women are often unjustly treated and denied justice due to gender power imbalances.
In this environment, men frequently escape accountability for their criminal actions, such as when a man kills a woman for rejecting his marriage proposal or for other trivial reasons.
Mrs Ajayi linked the prevalence of femicide to these patriarchal sentiments, stating, “Such violent responses stem from the belief that men are entitled to dominate women. This bias is also evident in cases involving sex workers, who have been killed by clients simply due to their vulnerability.”
Feminist lawyer, Eunice Thompson, condemned this culture of violence, accusing men of fabricating absurd excuses to justify the murders of women.
“Women are being killed for refusing sexual advances and killed for standing up to abuse. Women are being killed for as little as not cooking food at a certain time or not cooking the exact type of food that the person wants to eat. These are the issues at hand,” she lamented.
Thompson continued, “The constant justifications for violence against women are chilling reminders of the depth of misogyny ingrained in society. There is an urgent need to confront and dismantle these harmful beliefs.”
Justice delayed or denied?
The lives of families grieving femicide victims are shattered, with the pain extending far beyond the devastating loss of their loved ones.
The prolonged delay in the pursuit of justice, or in some cases, outright denial, further compounds their suffering.
Bamise’s case stands as a poignant example of this tragedy because as of the time of writing this story, her killers have yet to be brought to justice.
Her sister, Damiola, expressed her deep frustration with the sluggish progress of the case in an interview with Saturday PUNCH.
Damilola was present at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, when examinations were conducted to identify the perpetrators of her younger sister’s death. But that justice was far from being served.
“To date, we haven’t heard or seen any results concerning the specimen that they took from her body. When they performed the autopsies, I was there in the laboratory. I saw when they were inserting something into her private part. I asked what it was, and I was told they were taking a sample to determine if she was raped. It was also supposed to show the DNA of the person or people who raped her.”
Damiola held the police accountable for the failure to properly investigate the case, stating, “We haven’t heard anything concerning the specimen because we were told they were going to fly it out, yet we haven’t seen anything. It’s worrisome, and we are not pleased with it. The police are not doing their best.”
She continued, “The reason for the delay is that the other accomplices, whom the BRT driver referred to, are nowhere to be found. Where are they? Why have they not been produced? Where are Bamise’s belongings? Her phone, her bag? We were told she had everything she needed to present to the mother of the unborn baby, who is my brother’s wife. She had even sewn clothes for the baby. Where are all these things?”
The tragic story of Bamise Ayanwola underscores not only the painful consequences of femicide but also the overwhelming burden placed on families who must fight not only for justice but for the return of what is rightfully theirs.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Damiola Ayanwola expressed the deep frustration and heartache that the family has endured in their pursuit of justice for Bamise. She said, “The family’s experience in seeking justice for Bamise has been challenging and frustrating. We have faced multiple adjournments in court, which have delayed the justice process. The family feels that the government has not done enough to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Police’s standpoint
In a society dominated by patriarchal values, where many men demand respect from their female counterparts rather than earn it through mutual understanding, femicide becomes an inevitable consequence.
A distorted cultural outlook has stripped away the humanity of certain father figures, contributing to the escalation of violence against women.
The Public Relations Officer of the Benue State Police Command, CSP Catherine Anene, highlighted how gender imbalances fuel this systemic violence, describing men as having become insensitive and aggressive due to ingrained cultural beliefs that justify the mistreatment of women. She explained, “Normally, we will say it comes from misunderstandings at home. That’s what happens. When there are misunderstandings at home, it can result in violence.
“Then sometimes, it comes from cultural beliefs or misinterpretations. Men believe that submission means that a woman can be tortured, leading to death sometimes.”
Anene noted that femicide is often treated as either homicide or gender-based violence within the legal system, which can make tracking such cases difficult.
“We usually call those cases gender-based violence. But in a situation where death occurs, it could be reported as homicide. So if you want to get such cases, tracing the records is not usually easy because you either get them as culpable homicide or gender-based violence.”
While condemning femicide, Anene emphasised that no excuse could justify the killing of a woman.
However, she acknowledged that power dynamics, drug abuse, and ritualistic practices often underpin such violence.
“There are other factors that could also influence it. Maybe one of them is also being a drug addict. We can classify it as an abuse of power. When men are married, they think they are taking over the woman. But on the aspect of female sex workers becoming victims, we need to understand that it’s for ritual purposes,” she concluded.
Killed for rituals
Indeed, the horrifying reality of women being killed for ritual purposes has become all too familiar in Nigeria.
Sharing her experiences, the CSP said women are mostly targeted for their body parts, often with the belief that they will bring wealth or power to those responsible for their deaths.
Responding to claims of women being the target of ritualistic killings, a veteran actor and Ifa priest, Chief Yemi Elebuibon, denounced such acts, stating that traditional culture does not condone or support these heinous crimes.
“Our culture does not acknowledge such an act,” he stated, condemning the cruelty with which women are murdered in the name of ritual practices.
He noted that cases of femicide, ritualistic killings, and gender-based violence paint a grim picture of the pervasive violence against women in Nigeria, adding that it is compounded by a justice system that often fails to bring the perpetrators to account.
Shedding light on the concept of ritual killings in relation to Yoruba tradition, the septuagenarian stated that such acts are not part of the culture.
Feminism and femicide
Damiola, the late Bamise’s sister, called for a deeper engagement with feminism, emphasising its advocacy for the social, economic, and political equality of both genders. Ayanwola questioned whether merely seeking equal opportunities for women would be sufficient to address the underlying issues that contribute to femicide.
Feminism, often misunderstood and wrongly portrayed as an adversarial movement against men, is, in fact, about creating equality for both sexes. It is about giving women a voice and a seat at the table in family discussions, negotiations, and beyond.
Ajayi of DOHS Cares Foundation further noted that feminism challenges the outdated notion that women belong only in domestic spaces, asserting that women are capable of making valuable contributions in fields such as technology and the corporate sector.
The Director of Advocacy for Alleged Witches, Dr Leo Igwe, weighed in, insisting that feminism should never be used as an excuse to justify violence against women. He likened femicide to homicide and feminism to humanism, emphasising that one is a noble ideal worth striving for, while the other is a brutal crime that must be condemned.
Igwe stressed that men must actively support feminism in the fight to eradicate femicide, as it is a response to the oppression, persecution, and discrimination women face.
Femicide and law
Findings by Saturday PUNCH indicated that femicide is not yet recognised as a distinct crime under Nigerian law, a factor that contributes to the challenges in prosecuting such cases.
Instead, femicide cases are typically categorised under general classifications like homicide or assault, which often fail to capture the specific dynamics of gender-based violence.
Thompson, the feminist lawyer, highlighted the importance of recognising femicide as a distinct crime, stressing the need for stricter penalties for those who murder women, particularly intimate partners or family members. She pointed out that in Nigeria, domestic violence is prosecuted under the Criminal Code or the Penal Code, depending on the jurisdiction, and that the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act also addresses such issues.
“Femicide remains unaddressed as a standalone offence,” she emphasised.
Thompson argued that the criminal justice system’s failure to treat femicide as a unique crime has allowed perpetrators to evade justice, further perpetuating violence against women. She called for the legal recognition of femicide as a specific crime with harsher penalties to serve as a deterrent and for the urgent need to provide justice for victims.
Proposing legislative bill
Both Ajayi and Thompson called for a seismic shift in Nigeria’s legal framework to confront the monstrous crime of femicide head-on.
“There is no law in Nigeria that specifically addresses femicide,” Ajayi declared, her voice thick with urgency and fierce conviction. “Instead, perpetrators are simply tried under general murder laws—laws that fail to acknowledge the brutal, gendered nature of these heinous crimes.”
She pointed out that this glaring gap in the nation’s legal system has become the battleground for intense advocacy.
Ajayi revealed that DOHS Care Foundation submitted a powerful proposal for a femicide bill to both the Lagos State House of Assembly and the National Assembly to “tackle the deeply ingrained gender discrimination that fuels this horrific violence against women, resulting in tragic and often fatal outcomes.”
She stated, “As femicide continues to claim innocent lives across the country, the demand for stricter, more specific penalties intensifies. The current penalties for domestic violence and general murder fall woefully short of addressing the brutal realities women face. These laws, broad and inadequate, fail to recognise the uniquely targeted nature of femicide, leaving families shattered and perpetrators slipping through the cracks of justice.”
When Saturday PUNCH contacted Wali Shehu, the Clerk of the House Committee on Constitution Review, to confirm if the DOHS Care Foundation’s proposal had indeed been submitted, he confirmed it and assured that the House would soon take a closer look at it.
Meanwhile, many are left wondering, how many more women will be sacrificed before the law finally catches up with the epidemic of femicide sweeping the nation.
