The Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre has called for urgent reform of Nigeria’s abortion laws, saying criminalisation contributes to unsafe abortion and preventable maternal deaths. WARDC made the call on Monday in a statement issued to commemorate the 2026 International Safe Abortion Day, themed, “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care.”
The organisation said Nigeria could not effectively reduce maternal mortality while unsafe abortion remained a preventable cause of death and serious injury among women and girls. It noted that the country continues to bear one of the world’s highest maternal mortality burdens, with an estimated 1,000 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023.
WARDC said unsafe abortion was recognised as one of the causes of maternal deaths in Nigeria. The organisation also cited a nationally representative study which estimated that 1.25 million abortions occurred in the country in 2012, with about 212,000 women treated for complications arising from unsafe abortion.
It added that an estimated 285,000 women experienced serious complications without receiving the required treatment. According to the organisation, these figures highlight the need for stronger health systems and improved access to comprehensive abortion care.
WARDC’s Executive Chairperson, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, an Associate Professor of Public Law, said Nigeria needed to move from an approach centred primarily on criminalisation to a clear, rights-based and medically regulated framework for abortion care.
The organisation also cited a widely referenced estimate of about 6,000 deaths from unsafe abortion annually, while noting that the figure remains an estimate and that abortion-related deaths may be underreported or misclassified. WARDC urged the government to urgently review the existing legal and healthcare framework to address preventable deaths and complications associated with unsafe abortion.
