# The Aba Women's Riots of 1929

> The Aba Women's Riots of November–December 1929, remembered in Igbo historiography as the Women's War or Ogu Umunwanyi, were a mass uprising of tens of thousands of women across Calabar and Owerri provinces against abusive British-appointed "warrant chiefs" and feared new taxes. Colonial police and troops killed at least 50 women before the revolt forced Britain to abolish the warrant-chief system in 1933.

**Category:** History · **Updated:** 2026-07-26 19:36:35 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/aba-womens-riots

## Key facts
- **Also known as:** Women's War / Ogu Umunwanyi (Igbo)
- **Dates:** Late November – December 1929 (unrest continued into early 1930)
- **Trigger:** Okugo/Nwanyeruwa incident, Oloko, mid-to-late November 1929
- **Area affected:** Calabar and Owerri provinces, c. 6,000 sq. miles
- **Colonial response:** Police and troops opened fire on protesters, mainly at Aba and Utu Etim Ekpo
- **Deaths:** At least 50 women killed, c. 50 wounded (accounts range to 55 killed)
- **Outcome:** Aba Commission of Inquiry, 1930; warrant-chief system abolished, 1933

## Sources
- Igbo Women Campaign for Rights (Women's War), Nigeria, 1929 — Global Nonviolent Action Database, Swarthmore College (https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/igbo-women-campaign-rights-womens-war-nigeria-1929)
- The Women's War, 1929 — Mkomigbo (Igbo Knowledge Platform) (https://mkomigbo.com/subjects/history/womens_war/)
- When Authority Was Rewritten: How Warrant Chiefs Transformed Eastern Nigeria — Historical Nigeria (https://historicalnigeria.com/when-authority-was-rewritten-how-warrant-chiefs-transformed-eastern-nigeria/)
- Indirect Rule in Nigeria and Its Impact on Traditional Rulers — Historical Nigeria (https://historicalnigeria.com/indirect-rule-in-nigeria-and-its-impact-on-traditional-rulers/)

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