Dare Babalola
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the alleged acts of sexual assault and public harassment perpetrated against women during a recent festival in Ozoro, Delta State, characterising the incident as a profound national embarrassment and a disturbing manifestation of gender-based violence.
Disturbing footage circulating on social media depicts women being accosted in public, forcibly undressed, sexually assaulted, and subjected to degrading treatment by groups of young men, with onlookers recording, and in some cases, cheering the atrocities.
The NBA, in a statement signed by President Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), and NBA Women’s Forum Chair Huwaila Muhammad, on Saturday condemned the acts of violence.
The association stated that the mob assault on women, involving chasing, stripping, groping, and public humiliation under the guise of celebration, represents “a collapse of conscience and a stain on our shared humanity,” rather than a cultural practice.
The NBA, however, noted that no woman should ever have to endure such terror, such exposure, such violation of her dignity.
“This was not a festival. This was lawlessness. This was gender-based violence in its most primitive and shameful form,” the NBA stated.
The association noted that the acts amount to 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 NBA urged the Delta State Government and all relevant law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and decisively, in bringing the perpetrators to book. It further urged the authorities to hold accountable not only the perpetrators but also those who aided, enabled, or failed to intervene.
“Justice must not be delayed, and it must not be selective. Silence, indifference, or excuses in the face of such brutality only embolden further abuse,” it stated
It also urged the community leaders, traditional institutions, and festival organisers to take urgent responsibility by reviewing their actions during festival periods, warning that cultural celebrations must never become theatres of violence but reflect dignity, order, and respect for human life.
“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. This must never happen again!”
