Delta State Police Command has arrested 18 suspects in response to widespread outrage over videos depicting sexual harassment, assault, and public stripping of women during the Alue-Do festival in Uruamudhu Community, Ozoro, Isoko North Local Council of the state.

This followed the unfortunate incident during the Alue-Do (fertility festival) on March 19, 2026 in the community.

The Alue-Do is a fertility festival aimed at blessing women for childbearing, but the festival was hijacked by hooligans in Ozoro.

Viral videos showed young men chasing, tearing clothes off, and groping women in public .

However, while reports on social media labelled the incident a ‘rape festival’, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said that none of the four women alleged forced carnal knowledge, but they were sexually assaulted and humiliated.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bright Edafe, stated: “Eighteen suspects are currently with us and four women came to report but nobody was raped. They will be charged for sexual assault.”

Meanwhile, a group, Gender Strategy Advancement International, has said that the events during the Alue-Do festival serve as a painful reminder that for many women, public spaces are still not safe.

It said that images of young women being chased, harassed, and stripped are not only disturbing but also unacceptable.

The group stressed that no tradition, celebration, or cultural practice should come at the cost of a woman’s dignity.

Executive Director of the group, Dr Adaora Sydney-Jack, stated: “At GSAI, we believe that culture should uplift, not harm. When women are dehumanised in the name of tradition, it is no longer culture, it is a violation. Regardless of ongoing investigations or conflicting reports, one truth remains clear: every woman deserves respect, safety, and protection at all times.

“This moment calls for more than outrage. It calls for responsibility, from communities, leaders, and institutions, to ensure that women and girls can live freely without fear. A society that cannot protect its women cannot claim progress.

“We stand firm that women are not objects, not targets, not afterthoughts, they are human beings with rights that must be protected and upheld. Now is the time to act, to speak, and to ensure that such violations never happen again.” (The Guardian)

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