Police in Nigeria have arrested 15 people following allegations of sexual assault at a community festival in the southern Delta state. Videos circulated online showed young men attacking women who were alone, provoking outrage and leading to the trending hashtag #StopRapingWomen on social media.
Delta state police have denied claims that the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro was a 'rape festival', with spokesperson Bright Edafe stating that no formal report of rape was made in connection with the incidents. However, the videos taken during the event depict alarming scenes of groups of young men chasing, stripping, and assaulting women in public areas, sometimes while others filmed the assaults.
Edafe described the acts as 'disturbing and embarrassing', emphasizing that several suspects identified from the footage have been arrested and transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Witnesses and activists have raised concerns about the cultural context in which these assaults occurred, suggesting that women were warned against being outside during certain parts of the festival and that harassment may have been organized under the pretense of tradition.
Human rights advocates argue that although it is unclear whether any rapes occurred, the documented acts of forced stripping and public humiliation constitute serious gender-based violence according to Nigerian law. Community leaders, including the King of Ozoro, assert that the festival, which is traditionally a fertility celebration, had been misrepresented, and they stress that no activities condoning sexual assault are accepted in their culture.
Nigeria's First Lady Oluremi Tinubu condemned the assaults, advocating for justice and psychological support for victims while highlighting the need to ensure that culture does not excuse violence against women.
