NAPTIP reports 756 SGBV cases in the first seven months of 2026, as experts highlight low prosecution rates and cultural barriers as major obstacles to justice.
Despite existing laws and awareness campaigns, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) remains a major concern in Nigeria, with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) recording 756 cases between January and July 2026Â .
Experts are now calling for tougher actions against perpetrators, arguing that the figures represent only a fraction of the reality, as many survivors remain silent due to stigma, fear, and lack of trust in the justice system .
CDA News Nigeria gathered that NAPTIP recorded 549 investigations, 64 arrests, 183 rescued victims, and only two successful prosecutions during the period under review . The abysmal prosecution rate mirrors a broader national crisis—the Federal Government recently declared Gender-Based Violence a “national emergency” after 2,755 cases were formally documented between January and April 2026, with only four per cent successfully prosecuted .
According to the Ministry of Women Affairs, females account for 81 per cent of survivors, while sexual violence makes up 82 per cent of all reported abuses, mostly affecting girls aged 10 to 14 . The Womanity Index 2025 Edition further revealed that domestic or intimate partner violence accounted for 51 per cent of reported GBV cases, with 76 per cent of incidents occurring in the home .
Poverty, Culture, and Insecurity Fuel SGBV
Explaining the factors behind the crisis, NAPTIP Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoya, identified poverty, harmful traditional norms, insecurity, displacement, and technology as major drivers of violence . “Due to the low economic base of some families, they are forced to live in congested and uninhabitable homes in shanties with increased abuses,” Adekoya stated .
Technology Creates New Forms of Abuse
Technology has also created new avenues for perpetrators, with Adekoya revealing that “perpetrators now use digital space and technology to groom their victims and later prey on them. They make friends with innocent children online, groom them for child pornography, revenge porn, and sextortion” .
The Senate and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime have similarly called for urgent measures to strengthen Nigeria’s response to image-based sexual abuse and other forms of cyber-interpersonal violence .
NAPTIP Calls for Community Action
Adekoya called for harmful traditions to be reviewed and for community leaders, government institutions, and non-state actors to play a more active role in countering SGBV . He stressed that survivors should not be blamed for the violence committed against them and must be supported to overcome trauma and continue their normal lives .
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