A new study has revealed that 70 per cent of women on death row in Nigeria are mothers, underscoring the deep-rooted gender discrimination and systemic injustices faced by female inmates in the country’s criminal justice system.
The research was presented on Monday at a stakeholder validation meeting in Abuja. It was conducted by Hope Behind Bars Africa in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission, with support from the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the French Development Agency.
According to the report, 47 per cent of female death row inmates are between the ages of 18 and 35, while more than one-third had no formal education. Only 10 per cent of the women surveyed had completed tertiary education.
The study found that most of the women previously worked in informal, low-income sectors such as trading and farming, highlighting the link between economic vulnerability and their entry into the criminal justice system.
Seventy per cent of the women are mothers, many of whom left behind children in unstable or fragmented care arrangements, deepening the inter-generational impact of incarceration.
The report also revealed that over one-third of the women had experienced gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, child marriage, or coercion by partners—factors often directly connected to the crimes for which they were convicted.
Further findings showed that 75 per cent of the women were unaware of the laws under which they were charged, 85 per cent believed the law was unfair to women, and more than half considered their trials to be non-transparent.
Many of the women reported confusion during investigations and trial proceedings, and believed their cases were negatively influenced by the male-dominated structure of the justice system.
The stigma of incarceration was profound, with many women abandoned by spouses and rejected by their communities, especially in cases involving adultery or sexual offences.
Their children reportedly faced disrupted education, psychological trauma, and unstable living conditions due to the absence of their mothers.
Despite facing death sentences, over 80 per cent of the women expressed belief in rehabilitation and preferred restorative justice approaches such as vocational training or imprisonment over capital punishment.
The study calls for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s criminal justice system to address gender disparities, improve legal awareness, and promote humane alternatives to the death penalty.
