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Breast Ironing: Traumatic Ways Mothers ‘Protect’ Daughters From Sexual Abuse

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Recently, officers of the Nigeria Police in Lagos State arrested a man identified as Adegboyega for brutalising his eight-year-old daughter following early signs of puberty.

The victim’s left breast was completely cut off by her father after he reportedly used a hot stone to massage his daughter’s breast to stop it from growing.

Sadly, this is the ordeal many young girls are subjected to by their parents, especially mothers, in an attempt to stop the girls’ breasts from growing so as not to attract men.

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Breast ironing is the process whereby young pubescent girls’, usually aged between 9 and 15 years old, are most at risk of this practice.

Breasts are ironed, massaged and/or pounded down through the use of hard or heated objects in order for the breasts to disappear or delay the development of the breasts entirely.

Some of the instruments used in carrying out this barbaric practice include hot stones, hammer, spatulas, head of a broom and many others.

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It is believed that many boys and men consider girls, whose breasts have grown, ready to have sex.

So, some parents believe that by carrying out this act, their young daughters would be protected from harassment, rape, abduction and early forced marriage and, therefore, be kept in education.

Findings have shown that parents who indulge in this practice do it with the wrong notion that they are doing their daughters a huge favour by saving them from problems with unimaginable consequences.

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Prevalence

Though breast ironing is said to have originated in Cameroon, it is also prevalent in Nigeria and other African countries such as Benin, Ivory Coast Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Togo, Zimbabwe and Guinea-Conakry.

According to the United Nations (UN) data, the practice affects 3.8 million women around the world and has been identified as one of the five under-reported crimes relating to gender-based violence.

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Sylvia Chioma, Coordinator of the Girdle Advocacy Projects, whose specialty is to sensitize people on the harms of breast ironing, said the practice is very prevalent in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Tension High in Enugu As REC ‘Absconds’ Tribunal Subpoena

“It is very rampant”, she said, “but the issue is that it is under-reported or never-reported because it is considered a tradition. Hence, many victims often stomach the pain and remain silent because they have been indoctrinated that the practice is done for their own protection.

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“However, unlike what most people believe that it is not a Nigeria-thing, the fact is, it has happened, and still happening in Nigeria. Whenever we talk about breast ironing in our platforms, we see many Nigerian women recounting their experiences.”

Misguided intention

According to her, breast ironing is carried out with the misguided intention of protecting girls from men’s sexual harassment. “I’m always of the opinion that the motive to protect girls in the society is right but the methods or traditions are barbaric and senseless”, she added.

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Obianujunwa and Faith, victims of breast ironing, who shared their traumatic experiences with Sunday Vanguard, confirmed that they were told the exercise was for their good.

They also confirmed that their fathers were aware of the exercise but never intervened in any way.

“My case wasn’t exactly ironing because I didn’t deal with a hot object but with the head of a broom”, said Obianujunwa. “My mother used the head of a broom to press my breasts every morning before I leave for school. It was very painful but she said it was for my good. It happened when I was ten years old and in primary six”, she narrated.

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Painful experience

“When I was in so much pain, I would constantly hear my mum say it was for my good and it was for my breast not to be too voluminous because, according to her, ten years is an early age to start growing breasts. Till this date, I have not had an experience that was as painful as that and I don’t even know how to equate it. It was very painful. The girls can relate a bit, you know, when a girl starts growing breasts, it is normally painful, now, imagine someone forcefully pressing a hard object there?

On whether her father was aware of her predicament, she answered in affirmative. “Yes, he was very much aware of it but trust me, they were doing what they thought was the best for me. So the intention wasn’t to maltreat me and I really don’t resent them. I am just grateful that they realized on time and that my younger ones didn’t go through the same procedure”, she replied.

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For Faith, it was her aunt who ironed her breasts. “Mine was a different technique, more like using hot water to massage a swollen area. I was about nine years old and it was my aunt that did it. She told me it was to reduce the breasts so they don’t get too big as I grow up. I think my father was aware but he didn’t say anything”, she stated.

READ ALSO:Six Boys Gang-r*pe Teenager, Another Gang Seizes Her Underwear

But Aisha, resident in Abuja, was alarmed that some people still subject innocent girls to this cruel practice. “Growing up, I had a couple of schoolmates and friends whose mothers did this to them mostly during puberty. I just don’t want to believe that some people still practice this”, she stated.

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More problems than solutions

Many parents are often unaware of the many negative health and psychological consequences of breast ironing. Experts say breast ironing is very harmful. According to a medical practitioner and Chairman of JOFA Global Foundation, a charity, Dr. Obinna Oke, breasts ironing exposes girls to numerous health problems such as cancer, abscesses, itching, discharge of milk, cysts, breast infections and tissue damage among many others.

Aside from the health risks, the practice seriously damages a child’s physical integrity; social and psychological well-being. Most of the victims have been reported to suffer from depression, low self-esteem, etc.

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Dashed Dreams

“It affected me mentally”, Obianujunwa revealed. “My breasts have never been like a normal person’s own from a very young age. My breasts never grew perky; people always make remarks about my breasts. Growing up as a child, I wasn’t promiscuous but everyone complained my breasts were fallen. I cried for days, although then I didn’t know the cause for it”, she told Sunday Vanguard.

“I was so insecure about my breasts, and it really affected my self-confidence but I finally got to accept it. As a child, I always wanted to be a model but I haven’t had the confidence to brace the world with it yet because I have never seen a model with breasts like mine. No child should go through that much pain.”

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Also, Ola, whose wife was a victim of breast ironing, noted that he did not believe his spouse when she shared her experience with him.

“I thought she was telling lies when she told me her story. My wife is very beautiful, with curves but always wants to make love at night with the light off and always feels insecure. She experiences pains during breastfeeding and the milk doesn’t flow properly. This is pure evil”, he said.

Does breast ironing stop young girls from being sexually molested or prevent unwanted pregnancy? “No”, answered Chioma. “Ironing the breast does not really safeguard the female minors that are subjected to it because we have heard and seen cases of men who raped babies and girls below seven years old – would you say their ‘flat chest’ lured men to them?” she said.

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“The emphasis”, the activist explained, “should be on enlightening boys and men to not rape or sexually abuse or violate girls or women. Imagine what a girl-child goes through all because of some men who can’t control themselves. I think parents should focus on training their boy-child well. We should hold the bull by its horn by holding men accountable for sexual abuse instead of blaming girls or their bodies for it.”

Tackling the Scourge

What kinds of support do the victims need? The Girdle Advocacy Coordinator suggested a more penetrative and convincing approach to curb the ugly trend.

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“The main key is education. I suggest the next generation of mothers who are girls today, be comprehensively taught about their rights and how their bodies work and what shouldn’t be done to their bodies in the guise of safeguarding them”, Chioma said.

“This is not to say I’ve lost hope in this generation of mothers; as for them, we should hit more on community sensitization and awareness, enlightening, not condemning, on the consequences of breast ironing and other harmful traditional practices on girls and women.

READ ALSO: Police Arrest Counterfeit Currency Fraudster, Fake Bank Alert Suspect

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“As an NGO, our specialty is to sensitize people on the harms of breast ironing but when it comes to the therapeutic angle, this is where the health workers and professionals come in. Medical practitioners, the WHO, government bodies and other stakeholders should be organizing health talks and outreach to people especially those in rural communities, teaching them about this early and rapid growth that occurs in these teenagers.

“I think they should lead the charge because people tend to believe and listen to them more than advocates”.

Similarly, Obianujunwa called for an increase in sensitisation and awareness programmes. According to her, this would bring closure to victims. “Until recently, I didn’t realize the dangers that practice caused me. I didn’t even know it was the reason why my breasts turned the way they did and having this discussion gave me closure and the answers to my many questions”, the survivor said.

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“I know there are people like me out there who felt the same way as I did and need answers too. The awareness would also make the mothers know the implications of what they are doing and wouldn’t subject their kids to that much pain”.

Enabling Law

In Nigeria, there is no specific law concerning breast ironing; however, because it is classified as physical abuse, offenders are prosecuted under existing laws that protect the rights of women and girls. Section 360 of the Criminal Code states: “Any person who unlawfully and indecently assaults a woman or girl is guilty of misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for two years.”

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More so, Section 5, Subsection 1 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, states: “A person who willfully or knowingly places a person in fear of physical injury commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine not exceeding 200,000 naira or both.”

Meanwhile, states are not left out in the fight against abuse of the girl-child. For example, 34 of the 36 states of the federation have fully domesticated the Child Rights Act, a law that deals with issues of child abuse, child labour and forced marriage, among others, in the country.

Recall that Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Act to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2003. The Children’s Rights Act of 2003 expands the human rights bestowed to citizens in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) to children. Although this law was passed at the federal level, it is only effective if State Assemblies also codify it.

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Though government has enough laws that protect the girl-child, there is a need to review some of the laws to reflect breast ironing as a form of gender-based violence. Government should also step up the implementation of these laws to ensure that abusers are diligently prosecuted.
VANGUARD

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Why Sowore Was Taken To Prison After Bail – Police

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The court granted bail to Sowore with N500,000 and two sureties, which his legal team was working to perfect at the time of the police action.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja shortly after the incident, human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, accused the police of violently attacking and removing Sowore moments after his bail was granted.

Adeyanju alleged that more than 50 armed officers stormed the court premises, descended on Sowore, and took him away by force while refusing to present a valid remand order.

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“Sowore had just been granted bail, and while we were conferring with him here, the police suddenly launched an attack. More than 50 officers violently descended on him and took him away by force. We don’t even know where they have taken him,” he said.

READ ALSO:Why We Arrested Sowore – Police

He said the officer who led the operation briefly displayed what he claimed was a remand order but refused to allow Sowore’s lawyers to inspect it.

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Adeyanju said, “The officer flashed the document, and when we insisted on reviewing it, he pocketed it and ordered that they must go.

“When we asked where they were taking him, he said Kuje Prison. We demanded to see the remand order as endorsed by the court, but he refused.”

He further alleged that during the scuffle, the police accused Sowore of insulting the Inspector General of Police, saying, “Because Sowore called the IG useless, they must deal with him.”

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Police Arrest Sowore

The lawyer said the officers tore Sowore’s shirt during the confrontation and dragged him away even as his legal team was still perfecting his bail conditions.

However, while responding to Sowore’s re-arrest via X (formerly Twitter), the Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said the police acted within the law, adding that officers were empowered to use commensurate force to carry out their duties.

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Hundeyin, who attached a remand warrant to his post, wrote, “Except we want to be mischievous, we all know that once court grants a suspect bail, it comes with the caveat that until the bail conditions are met, the suspect remains in custody.

“Where it is clearly spelt out on the remand warrant that the suspect be remanded in a correctional facility, not police custody, it is the duty of the police to hand over the suspect to the Nigeria Correctional Service, who would then process his bail conditions.

“This has always been the practice. Why should this be different? Also, as law enforcement officers, we are empowered by law to employ commensurate force to get our mandate achieved.”

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FIFA’s Use Of Kebbi Stadium In Banner Sparks Outrage, Funding Row

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Global football body FIFA has stirred a storm of reactions across Nigeria after showcasing the Birnin Kebbi Stadium project in Kebbi State — a facility co-funded with the Nigeria Football Federation — on its official social media pages.

FIFA on Saturday used an image of the project, dating back to 2023, as the new profile banner on its official X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts.

The image, showing a half-furnished stadium in Birnin Kebbi, quickly went viral.

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Built under the FIFA Forward Programme, the stadium was meant to symbolise progress in grassroots football. But as the photo circulated online, fans flooded social media with outrage and speculation.

Some netizens interpreted FIFA’s post as a subtle jab at the NFF, following recent allegations of fund mismanagement.

The uproar comes just days after football critic Chinedu Mobike, via his official Instagram handle #c_mobike, on October 23, 2025, accused the NFF of squandering millions of dollars meant for infrastructure projects, including its twin project in Delta State.

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READ ALSO:JUST-IN: NFF Pulls Out Super Eagles From AFCON Qualifier After Libya Airport Nightmare

Mobike, in his viral video, claimed that FIFA gave the NFF “1.2 million dollars for two stadiums” — one in Kebbi and another in Ugborodo, Delta State — which, he alleged, “till today did not see daylight.”

Comparing Nigeria’s FIFA-funded projects with those of other nations, Mobike alleged that while “other countries used the funds to truly develop football, Nigeria produced nothing to show.

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“The NFF should sit up…There are no active projects promoting football or sports in Nigeria,” Mobike said.

According to The PUNCH, the next day, Friday, October 24, 2025, the NFF issued an official statement, which it described as a “fresh clarification to misinformation” by some social media users (names not mentioned) who claimed the NFF “collects millions of dollars from FIFA annually to misappropriate.”

The statement, retrieved from the NFF website, was titled: “NFF: Monies received from FIFA & CAF are for specific purposes, and audited in every cycle.”

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While Mobike’s video reignited calls for reform, the hashtag #SaveNigerianFootball has been trending on X, as users express frustration and hope that collective pressure might finally bring transparency to Nigerian football governance.

READ ALSO:SWAN Orders Nationwide Boycott Of NFF Activities

In its October 24 statement, the NFF firmly denied any wrongdoing, explaining that every dollar received from FIFA or CAF is tied to a specific purpose and audited annually.

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“The monies meant for development purposes are tied to specific projects.

“FIFA Forward funds are properly specified and under strict adherence to financial regulations, compliance, monitoring, and auditing at every stage,” the NFF said.

The Federation cited ongoing FIFA Forward projects such as the NFF/FIFA Players’ Hostel and new training pitches at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, stressing that every phase is verified before funds are released directly to FIFA-approved consultants.

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Dismissing the viral reports as “fictitious figures,” the NFF added that those spreading misinformation “would find no reason to seek clout if they had any idea how much it costs to organise a single match of any of the national teams.”

But the clarification failed to calm the storm.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: NFF Appoints New Super Eagles Coach

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Instead, FIFA’s quiet profile update on Saturday reignited debate, with many Nigerians reading it as a silent but deliberate signal.

Many questioned how long it would take to fully complete a mini-stadium project that came to light in May 2023, after the groundbreaking event in September 2020 by the former Kebbi governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

In December 2023, it was reported that Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris unveiled the FIFA/NFF-backed stadium project, saying it was designed to “boost the morale of youths in the state.”

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He noted that the project cost $1,183,000, with the state government donating four hectares of land and paying ₦19 million in compensation to landowners.

Earlier, in May 2023, FIFA described the Kebbi project as part of its commitment to grassroots football, writing on its website InsideFIFA: “It is no surprise, then, that Birnin Kebbi, the capital of Kebbi, was chosen back in 2020 as the site for the construction of an artificial football pitch now available for young boys and girls to use.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: NFF Appoints New Super Eagles Coach

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Meanwhile, a second pitch is under construction in Ugborodo… these two ambitious projects have received around USD 2 million in funding from FIFA through its Forward Programme.”

Online Reactions
Social media erupted with interpretations and comparisons.

Some users viewed FIFA’s action as subtle recognition rather than mockery. One X user, @Poka741997, wrote: “FIFA updating their header is symbolic. It’s recognition for Nigeria, even if the stadium’s budget is modest by international standards.”

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Others saw it as a global embarrassment.

User #_AsiwajuLerry commented: “FIFA changed their Twitter header to the $1.2m stadium built by the NFF. Global shame.”

READ ALSO:Joy As NFF Gifts Super Eagles Coach, Finidi George Car Worth N125m

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Echoing that sentiment, #OyokunyiOkon added: “This is embarrassing. The NFF should be ashamed that FIFA is showcasing a $1.2 million ‘stadium’ in Kebbi that clearly reflects misplaced priorities and poor accountability.”

Comparing Nigeria’s project to Senegal’s 50,000-seat Stade Abdoulaye Wade, user #FemiOguntayo2 remarked: “Nigerians want to build a world-class stadium with $1.2m… Haba! We know NFF is corrupt but haba na…

“This is Stade Blaise Sené (also known as Stade du Sénégal or Abdoulaye Wade National Stadium) in Diamniadio, Senegal. Its total construction cost was $270 million, funded largely by the Senegalese government and built by Turkey’s Summa Construction Company. FIFA’s way of mocking the NFF. How did they spend $1.2m on that stadium? Exposing the kwaruption in the NFF?”

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Another user, #mario99amr29, suggested FIFA’s post was deliberate: “We know what’s at play.

If FIFA can display this at the expense of other successful projects, maybe it’s a subtle callout. Nigeria vs Kenya: A case study.”

As of press time, FIFA had yet to issue any official comment explaining the use of the Kebbi stadium image on its banner. PUNCH

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Police Arrests Principal Supplier Of Weapons To Bandits In Delta

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The Special Assignment Team of the Delta state Police Command has arrested a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the northern part of Nigeria

The suspect, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie local government area, has long been on the command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

The Commands Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Bright Edafe, in a statement disclosed that acting on credible intelligence from the Force Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), Abuja, operatives of the CP Special Assignment Team (CP-SAT), led by ASP Julius Robinson, arrested a female suspects, one Jamila Abubakar, at Conoil Filling Station, Warri–Patani Road, Effurun.

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READ ALSO:Police Arrest Murder Suspect, Recover Corpse In Delta

The statement revealed that upon her arrest, officers discovered the cash sum of ₦550,000 neatly concealed beneath her bag and suspected to be proceeds from illicit transactions.

According to DAILY POST her apprehension provided a crucial lead that set off a well-coordinated follow-up operation.

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Buildin on that intelligence, the operatives stormed Niger-Cat area of Warri, where they successfully arrested a notorious arms peddler, one Ahmed Ibrahim (31) male, resident of Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area, at about 0725 hrs on 22nd October 2025.

“A search led to the recovery of a bag containing one hundred and fifteen rounds 115 rounds of 7.63mm AK-47 live ammunition, 220 rounds of SMG rifle ammunition, and 32 live cartridges”.

READ ALSO:Police Arrest Murder Suspect, Recover Corpse In Delta

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Edafe further noted, that preliminary investigations revealed that, the suspect is a key supplier of weapons to bandit groups in the north and has long been on the Command’s watch list for his alleged role in several high-profile kidnapping and armed-robbery operations.

According to the statement, Ahmed Ibrahim, is also linked to the kidnap and murder of one Ogheneovo Onemu (female), who was abducted on May 27, 2024 at Edjekota community in Ughelli North LGA, and later murdered after a ransom payment of ₦4,000,000.

Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Abaniwonda, described the breakthrough as another testament to the Command’s unwavering commitment to stemming the flow of illegal arms, dismantling criminal syndicates, and bringing offenders to justice.

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The CP urged residents to remain vigilant and continue supporting the Police with timely and credible information to aid the fight against crime, assuring the public that the Command will sustain its momentum against criminal elements and remain resolute in protecting the lives and property of all law-abiding citizens.

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