Lawyers, rights advocates, and civil society groups staged a solemn procession in Lagos to demand justice for Temitope Odu, a lawyer allegedly killed in a case of domestic violence.
The memorial walk, organized by the Gnosis Help Initiative, saw a large gathering of legal practitioners and citizens marching along Sabo Road, Yaba. They described the event as a “transitional walk,” symbolizing both grief and a defiant stand against the persistent scourge of domestic violence.
Convener Olumide Omosebi condemned weak institutional responses to abuse. “No religion should ever be used as justification for violence,” he stated, urging stronger government action and support systems for victims.
The protest highlighted a national crisis. A coordinator from the Femicide Observatory revealed a stark statistic: a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner every 49 hours in Nigeria. Temitope Odu was reported as the 162nd documented victim of femicide in 2025.
Advocates disclosed that Odu, a 56-year-old wife and mother recently called to the Bar, had endured over two decades of abuse. Their unified message was clear: no marriage is worth a woman’s life.
