NCWS Demands Urgent Action Against Child Marriage
Kuni Tyessi in Abuja More than 24 million Nigerian women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday, the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) has warned, demanding
Child marriage remains one of Nigeria's most persistent social challenges, with the country consistently ranked among those with the highest absolute numbers of child brides globally, particularly across northern states where socio-economic pressures, poverty, and entrenched cultural and religious norms sustain the practice despite laws such as the Child Rights Act setting 18 as the minimum marriage age. Nigeria has not domesticated the Act uniformly across all states, leaving enforcement inconsistent and the practice widespread in parts of the north-east and north-west.
The two reports reflect different angles on the same underlying crisis: the National Council of Women's Societies frames the issue in national terms, citing the scale of women and girls married as children, while UNICEF's intervention is more localised, focusing on Bauchi and Gombe states and tying solutions to investment in girls' education and protection services. Neither account yet details concrete funding commitments, timelines, or which government bodies will be held responsible for implementing the demanded actions, leaving open questions about how these calls will translate into enforceable policy.