The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the sexual assault and public harassment of women during a recent festival in Ozoro, describing the incident as a national disgrace and a disturbing form of gender-based violence.
Viral videos circulating on social media show women being 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.
In a statement jointly signed by the association’s President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, and the Chairperson of the NBA Women’s Forum, Huwaila Muhammad, on Saturday, the NBA said that acts in which women were chased, stripped, groped, violated, and publicly humiliated by mobs under the guise of celebration are not culture but “a collapse of conscience and a stain on our shared humanity.”
The association stressed that no woman should ever have to endure such terror, exposure, or 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 further noted that the acts amount to a grave violation of the fundamental rights to dignity, 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 relevant law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and decisively in bringing the perpetrators to justice. It also called for accountability not only for those directly involved but also for individuals 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,” the statement added.
The association further urged community leaders, traditional institutions, and festival organisers to take urgent responsibility by reviewing conduct during festival periods. It warned that cultural celebrations must never become theatres of violence but should 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.”
