Nigeria Records 756 SGBV Cases in Seven Months as Experts Demand Stronger Protection, Accountability

Nigeria recorded 756 reported cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) between January and July 2026, according to figures from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), renewing calls for stronger enforcement of existing laws and better protection for survivors.

The latest figures reveal a troubling gap between Nigeria’s legal framework and the reality faced by women, girls and other vulnerable people. While government agencies, civil society organisations and community groups continue to run prevention and awareness programmes, experts say reporting, access to support and accountability remain major challenges.

NAPTIP’s seven-month data showed that 549 cases were investigated, while 64 arrests were recorded. The agency also reported 183 rescued victims, with two cases won during the period.

The figures are particularly significant because they represent cases that reached the attention of the agency. Experts working directly with survivors warn that the actual scale of sexual and gender-based violence may be considerably larger because many victims never report what happened to them.

Seven months of cases expose a wider problem

NAPTIP’s latest figures form part of a much longer record of SGBV-related cases handled by the agency.

Since its establishment, NAPTIP says it has recorded 5,255 reported cases, conducted 2,887 investigations, made 605 arrests, secured 40 successful cases and rescued 2,592 victims.

The difference between reported cases, investigations, arrests, successful prosecutions and rescued victims highlights the complexity of dealing with SGBV.

A report can begin a chain of intervention, but that does not automatically translate into prosecution or long-term recovery for the survivor. Investigations, evidence gathering, protection, medical care, legal proceedings and psychosocial support can all become necessary before a case reaches a conclusion.

That is why experts are increasingly arguing that Nigeria’s response cannot be measured solely by the number of arrests or convictions.

National survey shows many survivors never seek help

The NAPTIP figures come against the backdrop of broader evidence that violence against women remains widespread.

Findings from the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) indicate that 21 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical or sexual violence.

But perhaps more revealing is what happens after the violence occurs.

Only 24 per cent of survivors sought help to stop the violence, according to the survey. Another 18 per cent told someone but did not seek formal help, while approximately 58 per cent neither sought help nor told anyone.

Those figures point to a major reporting gap.

In other words, official case statistics should not automatically be interpreted as the full size of the problem. Violence that remains within households, relationships or communities can disappear from official records when victims are afraid, financially dependent on perpetrators, unaware of available services or concerned about social consequences.

The NDHS also found that 22 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men believed there were circumstances in which a husband was justified in beating his wife, illustrating how attitudes towards violence can influence whether abuse is recognised and challenged.

Home remains a critical danger zone

The perception that SGBV primarily occurs in unfamiliar or public environments is challenged by other available evidence.

The Womanity Index 2025 Edition, produced by Invictus Africa, found that domestic or intimate partner violence represented 51 per cent of reported gender-based violence cases.

The report also found that 59 per cent of Nigerians had either experienced gender-based violence or knew someone who had.

Most notably, 76 per cent of reported incidents occurred in the home, compared with 29 per cent in public spaces, 25 per cent in schools and 20 per cent in workplaces.

The figures reinforce one of the most difficult realities surrounding SGBV: the person causing harm may be someone within the victim’s existing social or family environment.

For children, this can make disclosure particularly difficult because the perpetrator may be an adult they depend on or trust.

Why people remain silent

According to NAPTIP’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Vincent Adekoya, there is no single explanation for the persistence of SGBV across Nigeria.

He identified several factors, including poverty, harmful cultural practices, insecurity, displacement, climate-related pressures and the misuse of technology.

Economic hardship can place families in overcrowded or unsafe living conditions, while displacement can remove people from familiar support networks and make children and adults more vulnerable to exploitation.

Adekoya also said certain traditional practices continue to reinforce unequal gender relationships and normalise behaviours that should instead be recognised as abusive.

The combination of economic vulnerability and social norms can make it particularly difficult for victims to challenge perpetrators.

Digital platforms are opening another front

The nature of SGBV is also changing as more children and young people interact online.

Adekoya said perpetrators increasingly use digital platforms to establish relationships with children, groom them and exploit them.

Among the risks he identified are child sexual exploitation, revenge pornography and sextortion.

This means child protection can no longer focus exclusively on physical environments such as homes, schools and neighbourhoods.

Parents and guardians must also understand the risks associated with online communication, while children need age-appropriate education about boundaries, manipulation, consent, privacy and how to seek assistance.

Survivor advocates say official figures may only show the surface

Morenikejimi Olaniran, a social impact advocate and Project Lead at Centre for Teens Health and Development (Centre4Teens), said the number of reported cases should not be mistaken for the total scale of abuse in the country.

Drawing on her experience as a survivor and her work with young people, Olaniran said she had encountered cases involving sexual abuse, harassment, exploitation, neglect, intimate partner violence and emotional abuse.

One of the challenges, she noted, is that some young people grow up in environments where abusive behaviour is presented as normal, particularly when the person responsible is someone they know or depend upon.

That can prevent victims from identifying an experience as abuse in the first place.

Age, poverty, disability, displacement, limited access to information and unequal power relationships can further increase vulnerability.

Education could become one of Nigeria’s strongest prevention tools

Olaniran argued that children need to be equipped with practical knowledge before abuse occurs.

Teaching children about personal boundaries, consent, safe and unsafe touch and where to report concerns can help them recognise potentially dangerous situations and seek assistance earlier.

She also called for stronger child protection systems and trained professionals within schools who can identify warning signs, respond appropriately when children disclose abuse and connect survivors to relevant services.

Her position reflects a broader shift in the SGBV debate: prevention cannot begin only after a crime has been committed.

Children also need systems around them that make disclosure safer.

NAPTIP pushes community-based intervention

NAPTIP says community participation remains an important part of its response.

Adekoya called for traditional and community leaders to work more closely with government institutions and other organisations involved in preventing SGBV.

The agency has also inaugurated Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Persons Vanguard groups in primary and post-primary institutions, an initiative intended to help students recognise warning signs and become more confident about speaking out.

The approach is significant because formal institutions are not always the first place survivors turn to.

Evidence cited in the Womanity Index indicates that survivors are more likely to seek assistance from family members, friends, religious leaders and traditional leaders than formal institutions, with trust playing an important role.

This makes community leaders potentially important partners in prevention—but it also means they need adequate knowledge about safeguarding, confidentiality, referral systems and survivor-centred responses.

Existing laws are not enough without enforcement

Nigeria already has legislation intended to address violence and protect victims, including the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act).

But Founder and Executive Director of the Grassroots Centre for Rights and Civic Orientation (GRACO), Armsfree Ajanaku, said the issue should be treated not simply as a social problem but also as a human rights and accountability matter.

He pointed to Nigeria’s obligations under international and regional frameworks dealing with women’s rights and violence, including CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The implication is clear: having laws on paper is only one part of the solution.

Effective implementation requires functioning institutions, trained personnel, accessible reporting channels, survivor protection and consequences for perpetrators.

What happens after reporting matters

For survivors, the journey does not necessarily end when a case is reported.

Olaniran stressed the need for a response that includes safety, confidentiality, psychosocial support, healthcare, legal assistance and accountability.

Trauma can continue long after the original incident and may affect a survivor’s education, relationships, self-esteem, emotional wellbeing and ability to trust others.

Young people who experience violence may withdraw from school or social activities, struggle with concentration or experience persistent fear and shame.

Consequently, a system that focuses only on securing a conviction may fail to address the survivor’s longer-term needs.

NAPTIP has similarly advocated a victim-centred approach involving rescue, counselling, rehabilitation, empowerment, follow-up and reintegration.

Media urged to stop amplifying harm

The response to SGBV also extends to how cases are reported.

Wynyfred Achu-Egbuson, Civil Society and Community Mobilisation Specialist with the ESGBV Programme at International IDEA, said the media has a role in challenging harmful social attitudes.

The four-year ESGBV Programme, supported by the European Union, focuses on three broad areas: legislation and policy, access to essential services for survivors, and strengthening civil society while changing harmful social norms.

The programme also includes efforts to expand access to Sexual Assault Referral Centres and improve the ability of primary healthcare facilities to respond to survivors.

Its SGBV Media Corps involves journalists as well as influencers, presenters, community respondents and other media practitioners.

The objective includes discouraging practices such as victim-blaming, sensational coverage, privacy violations and imagery or language that can further expose or traumatise survivors.

For news organisations, the lesson is important: reporting SGBV is not merely about publishing the details of an incident. How a story is framed can influence public attitudes towards victims and perpetrators.

What Nigeria needs to change

The 756 cases recorded between January and July 2026 provide another warning that SGBV remains a serious national challenge.

But the most important issue may not be the number itself.

The larger concern is the distance between violence occurring, violence being reported, survivors receiving support and perpetrators being held accountable.

Experts consulted in the report point towards several areas requiring sustained attention:

• stronger implementation of the VAPP Act and related protections;
• safer and more accessible reporting channels;
• survivor-centred medical, psychological and legal services;
• stronger child-protection mechanisms in schools and communities;
• early education on boundaries, consent and safe reporting;
• community and religious leaders trained to respond appropriately;
• greater attention to online grooming, sextortion and other forms of technology-facilitated abuse;
• improved accountability for perpetrators; and
• responsible media reporting that protects survivors rather than exposing them to further harm.

Why the figures matter

Nigeria’s latest SGBV statistics should therefore be viewed as more than another crime figure.

They reveal a problem that cuts across homes, schools, relationships, communities and digital spaces. They also show why the success of the national response cannot be judged only by arrests or convictions.

If most survivors remain silent, official figures will continue to capture only part of the picture.

The challenge for Nigeria is consequently twofold: reduce the violence itself and build enough trust in protection and justice systems for survivors to come forward safely.

Until both happen, the gap between the number of people experiencing abuse and the number appearing in official statistics is likely to remain a major obstacle to understanding—and confronting—the true scale of SGBV in the country.

What readers should watch next: implementation of the VAPP Act, expansion of survivor-support services, the effectiveness of community-based prevention programmes, child-protection measures in schools and responses to technology-enabled sexual exploitation.