Police Arrest 11 More Suspects over Sexual Assaults in Delta, Obi, NBA, ADC Demand Investigation

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Wale Igbintade in Lagos

Eleven more persons have been arrested by the Delta State Police Command over the sexual harassment and molestation of women during a festival in Oramudu quarters in Ozoro community in Isoko North Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State.

This is as former presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi; Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Nigeria) yesterday condemned the alleged raping of women during the cultural festival, calling on relevant authorities to investigate the dastardly act.
A statement by the spokesman of the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, said the latest arrest brought the number of those so far in police custody over the issue to 15.

He added that preliminary investigation by the police indicated that the alleged harassment and molestation of the women during the festival were done by suspected criminal elements, who took advantage of the festivity to carry out their actions.
He called on members of the public, particularly victims and witnesses to come forward with credible information that would aid ongoing investigations, adding that all information provided will be treated with strict confidentiality.”
Meanwhile, Obi has condemned the sexual assault and harassment of women during the festival, describing the attacks as a reflection of misplaced national priorities.

In a statement titled: ‘Channelling Our Women to Critical Areas of Development,’ Obi described the festival incident as a “triviality” that diverted attention from more pressing development needs, particularly the empowerment of women, who constitute over 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population.
He further criticised the national focus on events such as the Ozoro festival, where videos circulating on social media showed young women being chased, stripped, and molested in broad daylight on Thursday, March 19.

Also, the NBA described the incident as a “national disgrace” and a “collapse of conscience.”
In a statement by its President, Afam Osigwe (SAN) and the Chairperson of the NBA Women’s Forum, Huwaila Muhammad, the association said, “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 NBA said the acts constituted “gender-based violence in its most primitive and shameful form” and a “grave violation of the fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, and security as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution, as well as other international human rights instruments.”
The statement emphasised that these acts also amounted to “serious criminal offences under our laws, including assault, sexual violence, and public indecency.”

In the same vein, the ADC said that those behind such heinous crimes should be attested and prosecuted.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said, “it is even more disturbing given that this occurred in a community with a university and several schools, where young women and girls should feel safe.”
Abdullahi called on the police to be thorough and make an example of this case, saying that every man that participated in the sexual harassment and assault must be identified and prosecuted.

On its part, BPW Nigeria called on the Delta State Government to launch an immediate investigation into violent assaults,

In an open petition signed by the National President of BPW Nigeria, Ojobo Ode Atuluku, and addressed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the organisation condemned the attacks, stating that women were assaulted, stripped, and violated in broad daylight.