March 23, (THEWILL) — At the weekend, news reports claimed that during a cultural festival held in Ozoro, a community in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, scores of women were harassed, beaten, stripped naked and sexually assaulted by hoodlums.
The news spread quickly and attracted widespread condemnation from concerned Nigerians across the country, including those in the Diaspora. Violence against women may not be entirely strange in this part of the world, particularly in an age of persistent insecurity, but this was something else. Stripping women naked and sexually assaulting them, even in full glare of the public!
Reacting to the incident, some people could not help but call for the abolition of all cultural practices, including festivals, that tend to encourage violence against women and similar absurdities. Others urged the leadership of Ozoro community to do away with the Alue -Do Festival since it was no longer safe for the womenfolk.
Some critics insisted that the leaders of the community had lost control of the festival and so, should be held to blame for what happened on Thursday.
A statement signed by the traditional ruler of Ozoro, Ovie Anthony Ovietobore Ogbogbo Ibuka 1 and issued from the Palace of Ozoro Kingdom strongly condemned all acts of violence, harassment and intimidation against women under any circumstance.
Sticking closely to the event of Thursday, March 19, Ovie Ogbogbo Ibuka 1 described the incident as deeply regrettable, unacceptable and entirely inconsistent with the values, traditions, and moral fabric of Ozoro Kingdom and the wider Isoko nation.
The statement dissociated the leadership of the community from any narrative suggesting that they endorsed or sanctioned the atrocities committed last Thursday, including allegations of rape.
“Such claims are not only false but constitute a grave misrepresentation capable of inciting public unrest and tarnishing the long-standing cultural heritage of our people,” the statement reads.
The traditional ruler pledged support to all relevant security and law enforcement agencies in their ongoing efforts to identify, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of Thursday’s shameful acts. He also called for a thorough investigation and the application of the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
Some residents of Ozoro are displeased with the way the Police handled the matter initially. They accused the Ozoro Police Area Commander, Zakari Muhammad, of deliberately looking the other way when two young women were under attack from a group of hoodlums.
One of the residents, writer and journalist, Anote Ajeluorou, was so unhappy about it that he called for the sacking of Muhammad.
Ajeluorou’s grouse was that the Area Commander’s office was just 300 metres away from the scene of the horror incident. Why did the Police not intervene to arrest the situation? How could they not have heard or seen the disturbance? Did they need someone to file a complaint first before taking action?
The Delta State Police commissioner, Mr. Aina Adesola, paid Ovie Ogbogbo, Ibuka 1 a solidarity visit, which was generally viewed as a welcome development in Ozọrọ and somewhat made up for the lapses of Muhammad.
Our investigation somewhat uncovered some inconsistencies in some of the reports, which have led to the conclusion that the content was largely based on misinformation. Besides, contrary to what was reported, there seems to be no record of rape.
On Sunday, yet another report claimed that due to the incident there was mass exodus among students of the Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro, mostly female, who had become deeply scared.
However, we believe that the full story around Thursday’s shameful incident has not been told and this can be done only through thorough investigation. We call on the Police in Delta State to take up the challenge.
