THE First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, has personally condemned the mass sexual assault of women and girls at the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro, Delta State, confirming that arrests have already been made and demanding that every perpetrator face the full weight of the law.
In a statement she personally signed – a rare and deliberate signal of the gravity with which she regards the incident – Senator Tinubu described the viral footage from Ozoro as “horrific” and “barbaric,” and said no cultural tradition can justify the violation of women’s dignity or freedom. The statement represents the highest-level personal intervention in the crisis to date, amplifying earlier condemnations from the Nigerian Bar Association, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, and a coalition of over 500 civil society organisations.
The incident – which occurred on Thursday, 19 March 2026, during what was supposed to be a community celebration – has left 15 suspects in police custody, a nation in outrage, and a renewed, urgent demand that Nigeria’s institutions hold the line where communities failed.
STATEMENT OF THE FIRST LADY · HER EXCELLENCY SENATOR OLUREMI TINUBU, CON
“I watched the horrific viral footage emerging from Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, showing girls physically and sexually assaulted, subjected to degrading and barbaric treatment during what was supposed to be a community festival.
Whilst I hold deep respect for the diverse, rich cultures and traditions that make us who we are as a people, I believe that no such tradition or custom grants any man the right to violate the dignity or freedom of any woman or girl.
I commend the Nigeria Police Force for the arrests already made and urge all relevant authorities to ensure that all perpetrators face the full weight of the law.
To the victims of this unfortunate incident, I urge you to seek the relevant medical and psychological help. I pray for your healing, peace and strength at this difficult time.”
— Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON
First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
THE ATTACKS: WHAT THE FOOTAGE SHOWS
The violence erupted in Oramudu Quarters, Ozoro, during the Alue-Do festival — a traditional community event in Ozoro Kingdom, Isoko North Local Government Area. Video footage that spread across Nigerian social media under the hashtag #StopRapingWomen showed young women being dragged off motorcycles, forcibly stripped, chased through the streets, groped and subjected to degrading treatment in broad daylight. In some clips, bystanders could be seen watching, recording, and in several instances, cheering.
WhatsApp warnings had reportedly been circulated to female students at Southern Delta University, Ozoro, advising them not to step outside from noon on Thursday. Women from outside the community, unaware of the restriction, are believed to have been among those targeted. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B, confirmed that some victims were students of the institution, and that a hospital visit by student leaders found the women had been molested; doctors reported no penetrative rape among those examined.
The Ovie of Ozoro Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Anthony Ogbogbo, convened a public gathering at his palace and stated unequivocally that in more than twenty years as monarch, he had never known any such practice to be part of the festival. “I have more than 200 videos and photographs of what transpired,” he said. “I have never heard that a festival is celebrated with girls being harassed, sexually molested or raped in my community.”
FIFTEEN ARRESTED; POLICE ACT SWIFTLY
Delta State Commissioner of Police Aina Adesola ordered the immediate arrest and transfer to the State Criminal Investigation Department of Chief Omorede Sunday — identified as both the head of Oramudu Quarter and the chief organiser of the festival — along with four associates on the day the videos went viral. By Saturday morning, a second wave of arrests had brought the total in custody to fifteen, with additional suspects, including Samson Atukpodo, Steven Ovie, Ugbevo Samson, Afoke Akporobaro, and Evidence Oguname, detained following analysis of video evidence and intelligence.
Police spokesperson SP Bright Edafe stated that preliminary findings indicated the assaults were “carried out by criminal elements who exploited the situation” and were “in no way representative of any legitimate cultural practice.” The CP Special Assignment Team is leading the investigation, with legal proceedings expected to begin in the coming days.
“I commend the Nigeria Police Force for the arrests already made and urge all relevant authorities to ensure that all perpetrators face the full weight of the law.”
Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON
First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
NBA: “THIS WAS LAWLESSNESS. THIS WAS BARBARITY.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) — whose statement preceded the First Lady’s by twenty-four hours and set the legal and moral tenor of the national response — described what occurred in Ozoro as “gender-based violence in its most primitive and shameful form.” In language of rare ferocity from an institutional body, NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and Women Forum Chairperson Huwaila Muhammad declared: “This was not a festival. This was lawlessness. This was a collapse of conscience. It is a stain on our shared humanity.”
The NBA placed the acts within Nigeria’s constitutional framework, identifying violations of the right to human dignity, personal liberty, and security under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended), as well as international human rights instruments. It named the specific offences engaged — assault, sexual violence, and public indecency — and explicitly widened the circle of accountability: “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 association struck hardest at the cultural defence: “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 culture. It is criminality.”
“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.”
Nigerian Bar Association — Statement, 21 March 2026
A UNIFIED INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE
The breadth and speed of the condemnation have been striking. The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development invoked the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and committed to providing psychosocial care, medical attention, and legal assistance to victims. The Delta State Government described the attacks as “barbaric” and declared zero tolerance. The Women’s Manifesto coalition of over 500 women’s rights organisations called the acts “organised and institutionalised abuse.” ActionAid and Speak Out for Justice Advocacy (SOJA) separately demanded prosecution and structural reform.
On social media, the fury was immediate and unfiltered. “Some cultures need to die,” wrote one commentator. “If your culture tells you that there are days meant to rape and molest women, then that culture must die.” Another asked the Delta State Government directly: “How long has this been going on in Ozoro?”
Former President of the Isoko National Youth Assembly, Ovie Umuakpo, attempted to draw a distinction: the festival itself, he said, had been “hijacked by criminal elements.” “There is nothing like a rape festival in Ozoro or anywhere in Isokoland,” he told TVC News. Whether that framing survives prosecutorial scrutiny — given that warning messages about the attacks were circulated in advance — remains to be seen.
WHAT THIS MOMENT DEMANDS
The intervention of the First Lady transforms this story politically. Senator Oluremi Tinubu is not merely the wife of the President; she is a senator in her own right, a CON awardee, and the most visible symbolic representative of Nigerian women at the highest level of the state. When she says she “watched the horrific viral footage,” she is not issuing a communiqué at a bureaucratic remove — she is placing herself in the same position of witness and outrage as every Nigerian woman who watched the same videos.
Her commendation of the police for arrests already made — and her direct call on “all relevant authorities” to ensure full prosecution — carries executive weight. It signals that impunity will not be tolerated from the very apex of the Nigerian state.
The NBA, for its part, directed a final demand at the broadest possible audience: community leaders, traditional institutions, and festival organisers must “take urgent responsibility” and ensure that cultural celebrations “reflect dignity, order, and respect for human life — not chaos and cruelty.”
Fifteen men are in custody. The First Lady has spoken. The Bar Association has named what happened. Nigeria is watching whether the courts will answer.
KEY FACTS AT A GLANCE
▸ The Alue-Do festival attacks occurred on 19 March 2026 in Oramudu Quarters, Ozoro, Isoko North LGA, Delta State.
▸ Viral footage showed women being dragged from motorcycles, stripped, groped and chased in broad daylight. Bystanders were seen cheering.
▸ WhatsApp warnings to female students at Southern Delta University were circulated in advance; outsiders unaware of them were among the targets.
▸ The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, personally signed a statement condemning the attacks as ‘horrific’ and ‘barbaric,’ and confirmed police arrests.
▸ 15 suspects are in custody, including Chief Omorede Sunday, the festival organiser and community head; the CP Special Assignment Team is leading the investigation.
▸ The NBA invoked the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law, calling the acts criminal and demanding accountability for bystanders and enablers.
▸ The Federal Government, Delta State Government, and 500+ civil society organisations under Womanifesto have all formally condemned the attacks.
▸ The Ovie of Ozoro Kingdom stated he had never, in 20+ years as monarch, known such practices to be part of any festival in his domain.
