The Nigerian Bar Association, through its President Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN and the Chairperson of the NBA Women Forum, Huwaila Muhammad, has issued a joint statement describing the mass sexual assault of women during the ‘Alue-Do’ festival in Ozoro, Delta State, as a national disgrace, declaring that the incident was not culture but criminality and demanding the swift identification, arrest, and prosecution of all perpetrators, including those who aided, enabled, or failed to intervene.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
The statement, dated March 21, 2026, and issued from the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja, represents one of the strongest institutional condemnations of the incident, going beyond denouncing the perpetrators to calling for accountability for community leaders, traditional institutions, and festival organisers who allowed the event to become, in the NBA’s words, a theatre of violence.
The NBA opened its statement with a powerful declaration about the character of any society.
“A society reveals its true character in how it treats its women. Where women are chased, stripped, groped, violated, and publicly humiliated by mobs under the guise of celebration, what is on display is not culture. It is barbarity. It is a collapse of conscience. It is a stain on our shared humanity,” the statement read.
The Association described the reports emerging from Ozoro as not just troubling but horrifying, noting that women were allegedly accosted in broad daylight, forcefully stripped of their clothing, sexually assaulted, and subjected to degrading treatment by groups of young men while others watched, recorded, and in some instances cheered.
“No woman should ever have to endure such terror, such exposure, such violation of her dignity,” the NBA stated.
The Association was unequivocal in its characterisation of the events: “This was not a festival. This was lawlessness. This was gender-based violence in its most primitive and shameful form.”
The NBA identified the specific legal provisions violated by the perpetrators, noting that the acts constitute a grave violation of the fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, and security as guaranteed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), as well as other international human rights instruments.
The Association further noted that the acts constitute serious criminal offences under Nigerian law, including assault, sexual violence, and public indecency.
In its strongest passage, the NBA declared that no cultural or traditional practice can justify the degradation and violation of women.
“The NBA condemns these acts in the strongest possible terms. No tradition, no custom, no so-called cultural practice can excuse or legitimise the degradation and violation of women. Any practice that permits such cruelty is not a culture. It is criminality,” the statement declared.
The NBA called on the Delta State Government and all relevant law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and decisively, demanding that the perpetrators be identified, arrested, and prosecuted.
Significantly, the Association extended the demand for accountability beyond the direct perpetrators to include those who facilitated or failed to prevent the attacks.
“Those who aided, enabled, or failed to intervene must also be held accountable. Justice must not be delayed, and it must not be selective,” the NBA stated.
The Association warned that silence, indifference, or excuses in the face of such brutality only embolden further abuse.
The NBA directed a specific call to community leaders, traditional institutions, and festival organisers, urging them to take urgent responsibility.
“Cultural celebrations must never become theatres of violence. They must reflect dignity, order, and respect for human life, not chaos and cruelty,” the statement read.
The NBA concluded with a powerful declaration on the obligation to protect women.
“The protection of women is not optional. It is a legal duty. It is a moral obligation. It is a test of who we are as a people. Nigeria must not become a place where women live in fear of being stripped of both their clothing and their dignity in public spaces,” the Association stated.
“This must never happen again!” the statement concluded.
The statement was jointly signed by NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN and NBA Women Forum Chairperson Huwaila Muhammad, underscoring that the condemnation represented the unified position of both the Association’s national leadership and its dedicated women’s advocacy arm.
The NBA’s intervention comes after videos surfaced on social media on Friday showing young women being chased, stripped, and molested in broad daylight by mobs of youths during the ‘Alue-Do’ festival in Ozoro, headquarters of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, on Thursday, March 19.
The festival, described as a fertility rite, involves controversial cultural practices including restrictions on women’s movement during certain hours. Women found outdoors during the restricted period risked being targeted by men.
The Delta State Police Command has arrested the head of Oramudu Quarter, Chief Omorede Sunday, identified as the community head and chief organiser of the event, along with four other suspects. The Commissioner of Police ordered their transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Department.
The Delta State Government described the acts as barbaric and unacceptable, the Federal Government through the Minister of Women Affairs directed the arrest of all suspects, and the National Association of Nigerian Students described the incident as a gross violation of human rights, noting that some victims were students of Southern Delta University.
The Ovie of Ozoro Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Anthony Ogbogbo, said he had been king for more than 20 years and had never heard of a festival celebrated with girls being harassed or sexually molested.
A coalition of over 500 women’s rights organisations under the aegis of Womanifesto also condemned the incident as organised and institutionalised abuse, while former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili described it as a failure of governance and preventive policing.
The NBA’s statement adds the weight of Nigeria’s foremost professional body to the growing chorus of condemnation and reinforces the legal position that no cultural practice, however long-standing, can override the constitutional rights of citizens or serve as a defence to criminal conduct.
_______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
Available now for NGN 40,000 at ASC Publications, 10, Boyle Street, Onikan, Lagos. Beside High Court, TBS. Email publications@ayindesanni.com or WhatsApp +2347056667384. Purchase Link: https://paystack.com/buy/evidence-act-complete-annotation
______________________________________________________________________
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
