Health
Groups seek stronger legal action against femicide
By Biodun Busari
Women’s rights advocates have intensified calls for a dedicated legal framework to combat the rising cases of femicide in the country, urging the National Assembly to enact a law that specifically addresses the gender-related killing of women and girls.
The call was made during a stakeholders’ engagement on the Development of a Femicide Bill in Nigeria, convened on Tuesday at the Gender Technical Unit of the House of Representatives, National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
The meeting, organised by DOHS Cares Foundation in collaboration with the Gender Technical Unit of the House of Representatives, brought together 26 representatives of women’s rights organisations, government institutions and civil society groups.
The engagement was aimed at reviewing the findings of the foundation’s 2025 Femicide Report and charting a legislative response to the growing menace.
Speaking after the meeting, the Founder and Executive Director of DOHS Cares Foundation, Ololade Ajayi, said the engagement was designed to advance a comprehensive legal framework to prevent and respond to gender-based killings across the country.
According to her, participants reviewed key recommendations in the foundation’s report while discussing strategies to strengthen legal protections for women and girls.
Ajayi disclosed that the meeting also featured an emotional testimony from Monica Agbane, a relative of a femicide victim, who recounted the killing of Deborah Okwori by her ex-boyfriend, Lintex Ogale.
“At the meeting, a femicide victim’s relative, Monica Agbane, shared a testimony on the killing of Deborah Okwori by her ex-boyfriend, Lintex Ogale, and pleaded for legislation to prevent similar cases,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi further revealed that the foundation planned to establish a safe haven for families of femicide victims and survivors to provide psychosocial support and aid their recovery from trauma.
“Apart from the stakeholders’ engagement, we also disclosed plans by DOHS Cares Foundation to establish a safe haven where families of femicide victims and survivors can heal from trauma and receive the support they need,” she said.
She added that the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, was represented at the event by Princess Dr Jumai Idonije, alongside officials of the House of Representatives.
The engagement attracted participants from several organisations, including TechHerNG, Girls Education Access, JUWACI, Yargote Foundation, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the African Women Lawyers Association, Fame Foundation, CEE-Hope Shelter, Tabitha Empowerment Foundation and Regy & Henry Amazing Grace Foundation.
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