A new study has revealed that a significant number of women on death row in Nigeria are mothers, many of whom face deep-rooted gender discrimination and systemic injustice within the country’s legal system.
The research, presented on Monday, October 13, 2025, at a stakeholder validation meeting in Abuja, was conducted by Hope Behind Bars Africa in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), with support from the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the French Development Agency.
According to the report, 70 per cent of female death row inmates are mothers, leaving behind children in unstable or fragmented care arrangements — a situation that worsens the intergenerational effects of incarceration.
The study further showed that 47 per cent of the women are between the ages of 18 and 35, while over one-third had no formal education and only 10 per cent attained tertiary education. Most of them previously worked in informal, low-income sectors such as trading and farming, highlighting the strong link between poverty and criminal conviction.
In addition, more than one-third of the women had suffered gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, child marriage, and coercion by partners — factors often connected to the crimes for which they were convicted.
The report also found that 75 per cent of respondents were unaware of the laws under which they were charged, while 85 per cent felt the law was unfair to women, and more than half described their trials as non-transparent.
Many of the women reported confusion during investigations and trials, noting that the male-dominated justice system may have influenced the outcomes of their cases.
The stigma of incarceration was also severe — several inmates were abandoned by their spouses and rejected by their communities, particularly in cases involving adultery or sexual offences.
The report added that the children of these inmates often suffer disrupted education, psychological trauma, and unstable living conditions due to the absence of their mothers.
Despite their circumstances, the study revealed that over 80 per cent of the women on death row expressed hope for rehabilitation and said they preferred restorative justice measures such as vocational training or imprisonment over capital punishment.