Dare Babalola
A Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has called on Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, to protect a 32-year-old widow who was allegedly subjected to inhumane widowhood rites in Ezinifite, Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state.
The widow, a lawyer, lost her husband in a motor accident on August 7, 2025, and was forced to undergo degrading rituals, including shaving her hair with a razor blade, or risk losing her children.
Badejo-Okusanya condemned the treatment, telling PUNCH, “This is not culture. This is cruelty.”
The widow escaped and lodged a complaint with the police. Badejo-Okusanya urged Governor Soludo and the state Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare to safeguard the widow and ensure accountability.
Badejo-Okusanya also called on professional and civil society groups to intervene, stating, “The NBA Women’s Forum, FIDA Nigeria, AWLA, civil society and women’s rights groups must continue to raise their powerful voices in solidarity with this young woman.”
She added, “The time for silence is over. The time for collective action is now.”
She further challenged community leaders to reject such practices, saying, “Traditional rulers and community leaders must show moral courage by discarding these archaic customs that have long outlived any meaning they might once have had. Widows must not be humiliated and coerced in the name of tradition.”
Badejo-Okusanya emphasised that widowhood rites should be compassionate, not subjugating, and that no widow should face such barbarity.
“This is bigger than one woman. If we tolerate such cruelty, we betray the values of justice, equality and dignity that our Constitution guarantees. Widowhood should summon compassion, not subjugation. No widow in Nigeria should ever again face such barbarity. The time for silence is over. The time for collective action is now,” she stated.
