Nigerian police have detained 15 individuals after disturbing videos showing young men assaulting women during a community festival in Delta state went viral.
The footage, shared widely on social media, sparked outrage and reignited calls for stronger action against gender-based violence, with the hashtag #StopRapingWomen trending across the country.
The clips, filmed during the Alue-Do fertility festival in Ozoro, show groups of men chasing, grabbing, stripping, and harassing women in public spaces, sometimes with bystanders recording the attacks. Delta state police, however, have dismissed online claims that the festival condones rape.
Speaking to Channels TV, state police spokesperson Bright Edafe said that no formal report of rape had been filed in connection with the festival. “We have spoken to four girls and all of them said nobody raped them,” he said.
Edafe described the scenes in the videos as “alarming, disgusting and embarrassing” and confirmed that several suspects identified from the footage, including a community leader associated with organising the event, had been arrested and transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department.
While the police maintain that no rape occurred, witnesses, activists, and some residents say women were warned to stay indoors during certain parts of the festival, and those who ventured out were deliberately targeted. This has raised fears that some sexual assaults may have been tolerated or even organised under the guise of tradition.
Human rights groups stress that even if rape cannot be confirmed, the acts captured in the videos—including forced stripping, grabbing, and public humiliation—constitute serious gender-based violence under Nigerian law.
The King of Ozoro defended the festival, insisting it is a fertility ritual and saying it had been “misinterpreted and abused by some youths.” He and other traditional leaders acknowledged that two women were harassed but emphasized that such behaviour is criminal, not cultural. The Delta state government has supported this position, stressing that no recognised festival in the state allows sexual assault and that any such acts should be treated as crimes.
Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who hails from Delta state, condemned the assaults and called on authorities to hold perpetrators accountable. In a signed statement, she said no culture justifies harming women and girls, commended the police for the arrests, and encouraged victims to seek medical and psychological support.
Investigations are ongoing as police work to determine the full scope of the incidents during the festival.