The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adetoun Gbadebo lll has called for urgent moral reorientation and stronger community leadership to curb rising violence against women and girls nationwide.
The monarch made the appeal at Nigeria’s sixth Men-Only Townhall Meeting, organized by The Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with Women Radio 91.7 and supported by the Ford Foundation. The event brought stakeholders together to examine the roles of culture, community and men in addressing gender-based violence.
Represented by the Bobagunwa of Egbaland, Toye Okanlawon , Gbadebo described the situation as alarming and in need of immediate action.
“This kind of engagement is long overdue. When you look at what our girls, our sisters and daughters are going through today, the situation is alarming,” he said.
He linked the rise in gender-based violence to a breakdown of values within families and communities, noting that children often mirror what they witness at home. He urged traditional rulers and community leaders to take responsibility for ending harmful norms that protect offenders or silence victims.
“Custodians of culture must take a stand. What is wrong is wrong, and it must not be tolerated in any community,” he added.
Chairman of the event, Yemi Sodimu, described the initiative as a response to a national problem requiring collective action. He said communities must take ownership of efforts to combat gender-based violence.
Sodimu warned that inaction would have lasting consequences for future generations and stressed the need to prioritize the safety and development of girls.
Citing figures presented at the meeting, he said Ogun State records an average of 41 domestic violence cases daily, totaling about 15,000 annually. He added that Lagos documented 8,692 cases of sexual and domestic violence between August 2024 and July 2025.
Data presented at the meeting showed that one in three girls will experience sexual abuse before age 18 in Ogun State. In Lagos, 2,213 girls suffered violence in a single year, with survivors as young as 18 months.
Also speaking, Olumide Omosebi , founder and executive director of The Gnosis Help Initiative, said reported cases in Lagos rose from 3,943 in 2020 to more than 8,600 within 11 months in 2024, an average of 28 cases daily.
He said about 86% of sexually abused children know their abusers, who are often relatives or close family members.
“Children are now more likely to be abused within their own homes,” he said.
