JFL The Nigerian Manosphere and the Rise of Incel Culture

[AsiaCel]

Guess Boko Haram isn't enough for niggerwaffen incels.


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sLAKoJYTLfA


Cba to format long articles. Click the link ix you wanna read

https://rpublc.com/april-may-2025/nigerian-manosphere-and-incel-culture/

Every ten minutes, a woman is killed by a partner or family member. The alarming rate of femicides around the world begs for urgent intervention. The United Nations reported 85,000 femicide cases in 2023 alone. In Nigeria, 113 femicide cases were reported by Document Women in 2024. On 12 January 2025, Timileyin Ajayi, a gospel singer, was found near a church with the severed head of a woman identified as Salome Adaidu. Social media has also facilitated other instances. For example, Benjamin Best, Augusta (popularly known as Austa) Onuwabhagbe Osedion’s killer, had confessed to his crime via Instagram stories, and Ini Umoren had been killed from a job offer on social media by Uduak Akpan. These cases highlight the role of social media in gender-based violence (GBV) and how it could be a tool for enabling its perpetrators. They reveal the presence of incel culture within the Nigerian subset of the manosphere.



The term ‘Manosphere’ emerged with the rise of social media and is used to describe online misogynistic groups, including men’s rights activists, Men Going Their Own Way, pick-up artists, and fathers’ rights groups domiciled in the West. They sometimes refer to themselves as incels (involuntary celibates) or alpha males. A common denominator that is found in these groups is an anti-feminist agenda, a sense of entitlement to women and the desire to control them. In their search for role models and belonging, men across age groups eventually find community in the manosphere, which has become a global phenomenon with the rise of globally mediated social media platforms. However, different local realities influence thoughts across contexts.

The creators of Uncovering Incels, a documentary created to highlight the complex network of particularly Australian incels, speak about how shockingly young members of the incel community were—usually between their teen years and early 20s, with the oldest being around 30. The extreme misogyny of these groups has fuelled several acts of mass violence, including the 2014 Isla Vista killings by former student of Santa Barbara City College, Elliot Rodger, involving a knife, gun and car. More recently, a teenage boy who beat a woman to death in Ireland was reported to have followed several of such influencers, including Andrew Tate.



The case of Ayomide Adeleye, who murdered Christianah Oke, a 300-level student at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), in 2024, reveals the real-world consequences of online misogyny. Adeleye was documented as an ardent follower of Shola (known online as @itsSh0la) and Sir Dickson (@wizarab10), prominent figures who lead what has come to be the Nigerian manosphere.

This online network became particularly visible in 2020 with the emergence of ‘Patriarchy FC’, a Twitter-based (the platform currently known as X) group created by a coalition spearheaded by Osaretin Asemota who designed the logo and bought the domain. It gained notoriety during pandemic lockdowns, a period when social media usage surged alongside rising cases of sexual and GBV—the UN recorded a staggering 56 per cent increase in GBV within just two weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria.

Key influencers like Shola, Wizarab, Yomyom (@ThaBoyYom) and John Doe (@jon_d_doe) have built their followings primarily through the targeted harassment of women who challenge traditional gender roles. Their rhetoric specifically targets feminists, single mothers, career women, and women who express sexual autonomy. A notable example occurred during the #JusticeforAusta campaign in 2023 when Wizarab publicly blamed Austa’s murder on female materialism, creating a false narrative that appeared to justify femicide. This claim was publicly refuted by Austa’s brother on his own X account. These Nigerian influencers frequently amplify content from international ‘alpha male’ figures like Tate, adapting global misogynistic rhetoric to local contexts. In another disturbing instance, Wizarab defended a teenage perpetrator of sexual violence, arguing that at 15, the boy was too young to understand the gravity of his actions—despite the victim suffering life-threatening injuries.

Digital rights activist Oluwabukunmi Familusi characterizes these behaviours as Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV), explaining that they represent ‘an extension of the misogyny and violence against women that’s prevalent offline and culturally acceptable in many places.’ OGBV can be used interchangeably with Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) and include acts such as cyberbullying, secret recordings of sexual scenes, non-consensual distribution of intimate images and name-calling. Research from Plan International shows that over half of young women (58 per cent) aged 15–25 have been subjected to online harassment or abuse. Nigerian women have experienced some form of online harassment, with hypervisible politically active and activist women facing increased rates of targeted abuse.



X is one of several digital media platforms that support the Nigerian Manosphere. According to a 2024 report by Journalists for Christ on misogyny and TFGBV in Nigeria, while 60.6 per cent of the perpetrators are men, Facebook had the highest number of posts at 74.2 per cent, followed by X and Instagram with 12.1 per cent. This disparity can largely be attributed to the differing nature of these platforms. While X’s limited character count and open retweet culture amplifies misogynistic content in rapid bursts, Facebook’s broader network and varied content formats—including longer posts, groups, and pages—may provide a more persistent and pervasive environment for TFGBV. What is, however, consistent with all three platforms is the slow and ineffective moderation of harmful online behaviour or OGBV due to the large volume of content and the difficulty in examining context.

Algorithms may also amplify harmful content that generates high engagement, enabling verified users (colloquially called ‘blue tick bros’) to post content that sparks outrage (‘rage bait’) for increased visibility and financial benefits. Researchers have confirmed an algorithmic bias in the amplification of politics on X, particularly those of right-wing groups, which suggests a similar dynamic in the Nigerian digital ecosystem. There is an increasing global reputation of online misogyny by Nigerian men, particularly on X, though the metrics remain unclear. Telegram groups have also been used as a medium for the distribution of revenge porn of familial or romantic relations, sex workers and strangers.

Nigeria is a patriarchal society with deep-seated gender norms. Wealth, power and control are typically attributed to masculinity, while subservience is an expectation for women. Pop culture and media reinforce these traditional norms, glamourizing male dominance and the objectification of women. Chibuzo Emmanuel of Culture Custodian highlights that the misogyny expressed in Afrobeats is a spillover of our cultural values: ‘It’s easy to view Afrobeats’ sordid disposition towards women as isolated but the reality is that it directly follows from the fog of virulent misogyny that pervades Nigerian society.’ Deviation from these roles results in dire consequences, particularly for women, as seen in several instances of cooking-motivated femicides.

The manosphere is a reflection of this reality. The rise of feminism in pop culture and women challenging the masculine hegemony is one of the reasons for the ‘alpha male’ internet subculture. Men who have relinquished heteronormative dominance or are progressive are referred to as ‘simps’ as they are regarded as walkovers. Shola, one of the key influences in the Nigerian manosphere, addresses this in The Sun Nigeria: ‘Men were dipping, most especially Nigerian men, the bar was getting lower, our men were normalizing simping, and a whole lot of great men have been falling also as a result of dealing with manipulative women, I just had to start the movement.’ Referring to the manosphere as a ‘Masculinity Awareness’ movement aimed at raising high-value men. With over 56 per cent of Nigerians living below the poverty line, the ‘high-value man’ narrative aims to reaffirm men emasculated by financial uncertainties.

Weak legislation and policies also foster GBV in Nigeria. Laws like the Penal Code Law cap 89 treat domestic quarrels as non-offences if committed by a husband to correct his wife. This law sees the husband-wife relationship as being similar to a parent-child relationship. This legal leniency not only normalizes GBV but also provides support for the manosphere’s ideologies.
RELIGION’S INFLUENCE ON GENDER DYNAMICS

While religion can be a moral pillar for some, it also plays a role in perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes that contribute to OGBV. Nigeria, with its large Christian and Muslim populations, exemplifies this. The dominant religious texts, with their patriarchal themes, teachings of female submission, purity culture, and portrayals of GBV, provide a fodder for misogynistic interpretations. Young boys who grow up in religious households are sometimes exposed to these ideologies, hence normalizing a cycle of violence against women.

The Christian scriptures (for instance, Ezekiel chapter 16 and 23) depict graphical stories of rape and femicide. Other scriptures also used to defend harmful patriarchal values like the subjugation of women are seen in Ephesians 5:22–24 and 1 Corinthians 14:33b–36. Furthermore, women who are victims of intimate partner violence are often advised by their religious community to ‘endure’ abusive marriages rather than divorce, as it is seen as a sin. This is justified by Matthew 5:32, which condemns divorce except for sexual immorality.

Various hadiths and interpretations in Islam also fan the flames of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based oppression. Quran 4:34 states that it is permissible for a man to beat his wife if she is ‘disobedient’ to him.

These interpretations foster values of the manosphere in varying degrees, from extremist to seemingly ‘moderate’. In viral sermon clips, Nigerian pastors have been seen objectifying women who are not ‘modest’ by religious standards that are based on unrealistic metrics. Sexually active women have once been referred to as ‘tapes losing their adhesive strength.’ This is one of several instances where clerics have called women unprintable names. This toxic narrative reinforces a culture of shaming women while excusing male dominance.

Sophia Network’s 2017 United Kingdom report, Minding the Gap, found that despite women comprising 65 per cent of church communities, 62 per cent had experienced sexism in church. Another 2018 study by Kristen Aune and Rebecca Barnes titled ‘Church Response to Domestic Violence’ revealed that while 71 per cent of churchgoers were aware of domestic violence, only 37.6 per cent considered it a church issue. Alarmingly, one in four of the respondents had been in an abusive relationship. These findings suggest a broader problem of institutional neglect in addressing GBV, a trend mirrored in Nigeria.

The complicity of the Nigerian religious community in handling violence against women can be seen in how the case of rape allegations made against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, by photographer Busola Dakolo was met with social media backlash. Fatoyinbo’s church members defended their pastor, accusing Dakolo of malicious intent. Their bias was that the allegations were a premeditated attack by opposition churches, even without proper due diligence. This culture of reverent worship of religious leaders is the reason for the lack of accountability for their actions. Founder of Passion Against Rape and Abuse in Africa Foundation, Daramola-Salako said, ‘75 per cent of the cases I have on my table are from religious leaders, and a lot of time, we don’t get to the end of it, because when we start, the family would come and tell us we should leave the religious leader to God.’ More recently, an Islamic cleric was arraigned for the alleged femicide of a final-year student of Kwara State College of Education for ritual purposes.
A CALL TO ACTION

Addressing the manosphere in Nigeria requires a deep restructuring of societal values influenced by religion, culture, legal, economic and digital norms which enable misogynistic ideologies. We need to confront the serious physical and psychological implications of cyberviolence from the manosphere from silencing women’s voices to contributing to the skyrocketing rates of femicide.

There is a need to reform outdated laws and create policies that address TFGBV to protect survivors. Digital tools like the Feminist Ethics AI Toolkit created by the Zambian feminist collective, Sistah Sistah, designed to ensure that developers create ethical Al is useful in the prevention of deepfake porn. In the same vein, digital platforms must be pressured to reinforce content moderation tools and enforce stronger policies that curb hate speech. Programmes like SAFER by an Australian Christian community, which provides resources for domestic violence victims, serve as a model for creating supportive faith-based communities as well as more secular projects like HER Internet in Uganda and SAFENet in Indonesia, directly targeted at raising awareness of TFGBV and providing support for survivors. By interrogating and addressing the complex interplay of cultural, legal, religious and economic forces behind the Nigerian manosphere, we can create an environment where misogyny is not tolerated. A society rooted in faith, justice, and equality cannot be a breeding ground for hate⎈

 

[Lonelyus]

No one cares about men so dont care

 

[Grodd]

Those femicide numbers aren't high enough