Violence against women is a major human rights and public health problem that is pervasive in virtually all societies in the world. A common form of such violence is Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), which occurs in intimate relationships and affects about one in every three women. In addition to being a widespread disorder, IPV also profoundly damages the physical, sexual, reproductive, emotional, mental and social well-being of individuals and families. In developing countries, especially in Africa where societies are already ravaged by a host of social and health issues, IPV is more likely to impose an additional burden, with research showing prevalence of IPV against women that is as high as 80%. Besides, there is indication of it confining victims, their families and the larger society within which they live to poverty, as it comes with immense financial burden. Despite this fact, developing countries in Africa (such as Nigeria) still lack effective means of protecting women against IPV. This is most likely due to the inadequate exploration of the issue in terms of the complex risk factors, socio-economic costs, attitudes towards gender roles among others. This study investigates the complex nature of IPV in Nigeria, using a cross-sectional population-based study design to generate new set of results pertaining to the likely risk factors and socio-economic costs among others. It also explores the design of a novel preventive framework to address the IPV issue. Data for the study were collected using a pretested questionnaire based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Standards and administered by healthcare professionals (mostly nurses and midwives) to solicit relevant information from women across Kwara state, Nigeria. The critical inclusion criterion was: women aged 18 years and above who were previously or currently involved in a cohabiting or non-cohabiting relationship. A multistage sampling procedure which reflected the rural and urban locations of the respondents was adopted and used to gather 719 complete face-to-face interviews. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical procedures (e.g., cross-tabulations and simple bivariate- as well as sequential-logistic regression) carried out via IBM SPSS®20. The novel results generated show that IPV, as hypothesized, is a serious issue in the country, with results indicating that 1 out of every 4 women has experienced IPV at least once in her life-time. Results also show that the experience of IPV for most women is not a one-off occurrence, but rather a recurrent one. There is also an indication of widespread acceptance of IPV across Urban and Rural areas. Results from the logistic regression analysis conducted show that factors such as women’s and partner’s educational attainments, controlling behaviours, partnership discord and choice of spouse among others are likely predictors of IPV occurrence. The results also give an indication of a slightly complex association between the likely risk factors and IPV – one involving interactions and partial mediations amongst these factors in their prediction of IPV. Costs ii ii estimation results show that IPV is a major drain on households finances and also a potential hindrance on the Nigerian economy as a whole. Drawing greatly on these findings as guides, relevant preventive strategies around the world with proven effectiveness were adopted in the research to propose a three-tier validated preventive framework to tackle the issue of IPV in Nigeria and other similar developing countries. Important recommendations are also made to address this issue.