Authorities in Nigeria have arrested at least 15 people following the circulation of viral videos allegedly showing sexual assaults during a community festival in southern Delta state, police said.
The footage, widely shared on social media, appears to show groups of young men chasing, stripping and assaulting women in public spaces during the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro. The clips triggered widespread outrage and pushed the hashtag #StopRapingWomen into trending topics, renewing calls for stronger action against gender-based violence.
Delta state police spokesperson Bright Edafe said the scenes captured in the videos were “alarming, disgusting and embarrassing,” confirming that suspects identified from the footage had been detained and transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department.
However, police rejected claims circulating online that the event was a so-called “rape festival.” Edafe said authorities had spoken to four women, none of whom reported rape.
“We have spoken to four girls and all of them said nobody raped them,” he told local media.
Among those arrested is a community leader reportedly linked to organising the festival. Investigations are ongoing.
Despite police statements, witnesses and activists have raised concerns that women were warned to stay indoors during parts of the festival, and that those seen outside were deliberately targeted, suggesting the violence may have been tolerated or enabled.
Rights groups say that regardless of whether rape occurred, the acts documented — including forced stripping, physical assault and public humiliation — constitute serious sexual and gender-based violence under Nigerian law.
Traditional authorities in Ozoro have rejected claims that the Alue-Do festival condones such behaviour. The King of Ozoro described the event as a fertility rite that had been “misinterpreted and abused by some youths.”
Local leaders acknowledged that some women were harassed but stressed that such acts are criminal and not part of cultural practices.
The Delta state government echoed this position, stating that no recognised festival permits sexual violence and that any abuses should be prosecuted under the law.
Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu also condemned the incidents, calling for accountability and urging victims to seek medical and psychological support. She said no cultural tradition could justify violence against women and girls.