A Coalition of Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs) in Nigeria, comprising 36 women-led and women-focused groups, today convened a press conference to address the alarming rise in incessant violent attacks and killings in the country and its devastating impact on women, children, and vulnerable populations.
The Coalition expressed deep concern over the persistent and worsening security situation due to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, gender-based violence, displacement, and communal conflicts. These crises continue to disproportionately affect women and girls, exposing them to heightened risks of conflict-related violence, loss of livelihoods, limited access to healthcare, education disruption, sexual exploitation and long-term psychological trauma.
The Coalition emphasized that beyond the immediate physical threats, insecurity has deepened economic hardship for Nigerians, particularly women, by increasing unpaid care burdens, and worsening existing gender inequalities. Farmers, traders, artisans, miners and small business owners have been forced out of their means of livelihood, further exacerbating poverty and food insecurity. Smallholder women farmers face gender-specific attacks such as the burning of their storage facilities, abductions, and even rape on or on the way to and from their farms.
Nigeria is a Country under siege
Insecurity has become the daily reality of Nigerian citizens. It continues to deepen poverty, erode public trust in governance, and threaten the very survival of our nationhood and democracy. From North to South, East to West and across the Middle Belt, Nigerians residing in all six geopolitical zones are living in anxiety and fear while leadership attention increasingly prioritizes politics over protection.
Listed below are some of the recent attacks that highlight the chilling reality of pervasive and severe security challenges facing Nigerians across the Country:
North Central:
* Benue State: 17 killed in Jande Village , Mbalom in Gwer East County.
* Plateau: Attacks between March 29–30, 2026 in Angwan Rukuba, Bauchi Road (Jos North) left 28 people dead. Other attacks include killings in Bokkos, Bassa and Riyom LGAs in the 1st week of April 2026.
* Kwara State: On February 3rd, 176 persons were kidnapped from Woro and Kososo Communities in Kaiama Local Government, and on the 4th February, a massacre in Woro village claimed 35 lives, while an April 8 attack in Dina community killed 3 soldiers and 6 civilians.
* Niger State: Bandits stormed multiple communities and abducted 60 persons, causing panic as people fled for safety and abandoned their properties.
North East:
* Borno States: On 24 December 2025 a suicide bomb in a crowded mosque in Maiduguri killed 5 and injured 35 people. In March and April 2026, insurgent raids across Bama, Dikwa, Gwoza, Kukawa, Marte, and Nganzai have displaced thousands of residents, and targeted military bases.
North West:
* Kaduna State: Attacks in Kachia on 5th April, 2026 saw 12 people killed and 35 abducted during worship at St. Augustine Catholic Church and ECWA Church in Ariko Community.
Zamfara, Sokoto & Katsina States: Persistent bandit raids and school kidnappings have forced many farmers and local miners to abandon their lands and sites of livelihood.
South East:
- Imo States: Attacks in March 2026 in Orlu claimed both civilian and security lives, while raids in Orsu between February and March resulted in deaths and kidnappings, collapsing local economies.
* Anambra and Enugu States: Brutal attacks by heavily armed men in Ihiala (Anambra) and Nsukka (Enugu) have forced farmers to abandon their farms.
South South:
- Delta State: Armed attacks on oil-producing communities involving extortion and killings continue to disrupt livelihoods.
- Edo State: In February 2026 a palace Chief was shot dead and his 2 daughters were abducted. In the same month, Etsako West LGA has witnessed multiple killings by armed herders, including two farmers.
- Rivers State: A surge in reprisal cult homicides continues to disrupt the peace
South West
- Lagos and Ogun States: Increasing kidnappings of commuters along highways and growing hardship as families struggle with insecurity and inflation.
- Ondo State: Killing of three people in Akure North including a Monarch while resisting abduction in February 2026. In April 2026, 14 people were killed by gunmen in Aba Pastor Community.
The high human cost of insecurity has additional impact on women and girls, and other vulnerable populations such as youth, children and people with disabilities. These bear a disproportionate burden in the following respects, among others:
• Women and girls are abducted, sexually exploited, and internally displaced.
• Schools have become unsafe spaces, stealing the futures of many young people while unemployment fuels recruitment into violent groups.
• A surge in human/child trafficking has increased the spread and severity of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse of vulnerable persons.
• Persons with disabilities are often left behind during evacuations and excluded from humanitarian assistance.
• Women agricultural workers lose their livelihoods as farmlands become unsafe, worsening food insecurity.
• Faith communities, including churches and mosques, are targeted, deepening mistrust and divisions.
• Children are kidnapped, compelled into forced labour, traumatized, and denied access to education.
• Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to be gainfully employed.
• Urban/poor communities face disrupted markets, unsafe transportation, and growing hunger as families skip meals.
• Inmates and other marginalized groups experience compounded vulnerabilities and heightened insecurity even within custodial environments.
• Women and girls in IDP Camps are often revictimized by practices such as ‘barter’ sex (sex in exchange for goods and services), sexual servitude, teen pregnancy; unhygienic living conditions including lack of menstrual hygiene facilities.
Based on the present dire security situation, and in the spirit of patriotism, solidarity, and civic responsibility, we hereby call on the Federal and State Governments to do everything within their power to guarantee the security and welfare of the people which is their primary purpose as enshrined in Chapter 14, Sub-Section IIb of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Call to Action
This Coalition of Women’s Rights Organisations calls on:
• The Federal Government of Nigeria to prioritise the protection of citizens, particularly women and vulnerable groups, through strengthened security architecture and inclusive policies.
• Federal and State governments to safeguard livelihoods by securing farmlands, supporting displaced populations, and preventing hunger through urgent agricultural and humanitarian interventions
• State and local governments to invest in community-based protection systems and support psycho-social and economic support services for survivors of violence.
• Security and law enforcement agencies to adopt human rights and gender-sensitive approaches in their operations, ensure accountability, and improve early warning and response time to actionable intelligence, threats and incidents.
• Relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to scale up interventions that address the root causes of insecurity, including poverty, unemployment, inequality, and social exclusion.
• Civil society organisations and private sector bodies to scale up initiatives that promote peacebuilding, women’s economic strengthening, and resilience in affected communities.
• Humanitarian and Emergency Response Organisations to guarantee humanitarian access by ensuring the safe delivery of aid and improving conditions in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps to uphold dignity and human rights.
• Political actors to rebuild trust in governance through transparent disclosure of public spending and prioritizing citizens’ welfare and national stability above political interests.
Nigeria’s leaders can no longer afford to merely condemn violence while citizens continue to lose their lives and livelihoods daily. Every allocation of public resources must translate into safety, food security, investment in human capital, creation of decent jobs and dignity for ordinary Nigerians.
Insecurity must be urgently and decisively addressed. Poverty must be reversed. Governance must serve the people not politics.
The time for condemnation alone is over. The time for decisive action is now.
About the Women’s Rights Coalition
This Coalition of Women’s Rights Organisations is a network of 36 groups working across Nigeria to promote gender equality, protect the rights of women and girls, and advance inclusive development through advocacy, community engagement, capacity strengthening, and policy influence.
Signed:
100 Women Lobby Group
Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI)
African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Nigeria Chapter
Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN)
Attah Sisters Helping Hand Foundation (ASHH Foundation)
Business and Professional Women Nigeria (BPW)
CARA Development Foundation
Communal Care Centre (CCC)
Center for Gender Economics in Africa (CGE Africa)
Centre for Community Resource, Health and Social Development (CCRHSD)
Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS)
Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative (CLHEI)
Ene Obi Foundation
Euphrates Climate Foundation
Fahimta Women and Youth Development Initiative (FAWOYDI)
Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN)
Feminist Womanifesto
Gender and Development Action (GADA)
Global Hope for Women and Children Foundation (GLOHWOC)
Hope and Heart Charity Care Foundation
International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)
KungiyarTallafin Mata Development Initiative (KTMDI)
League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV)
Media & Teens Network
NANA Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative
Network of Nigerian Women Mediators (NNWM)
Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)
Olive Community Development Initiative (OCDI)
Precious Red Diamond
Safe Path Alliance for Women and Girls (Safepath Nigeria)
Small Scale Women Farmers Organization in Nigeria (SWOFON)
Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation
Web of Hearts Foundation
Women Empowerment Education and Peace Building Initiative (WEPBI)
Women in Politics Forum (WIPF)
Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL)
Women’s Rights and Health Project (WRAHP)
Young Urban Women’s Movement Nigeria (YUWM)
Adinya Arise Foundation AAF
Gender And Community Empowerment Initiative (GECOME)
Peace Heritage Foundation
