The reported incidents surrounding the so-called Ozoro Festival in Delta State, where women and girls were subjected to sexual assault and rape under the guise of tradition, represent a profound moral, legal, and societal failure. How did we get here as a society? Such acts are criminal and fundamentally incompatible with the values of human dignity and the rule of law that Nigeria claims to uphold.
There is no cultural justification for violence, especially sexual violence. Any practice, regardless of its historical roots, that encourages the violation of human beings must be unequivocally condemned and abolished.
Culture is often invoked as a shield to protect harmful practices from scrutiny. However, culture is not static. Culture evolves with society’s understanding of justice and human rights. Practices such as female genital mutilation, child marriage, and other harmful traditions have rightly been challenged and outlawed in many cases.
Sexual violence masquerading as tradition is not culture but is infact utter criminality. It is a distortion of communal values and a betrayal of the very people culture is meant to protect. No society that values human life and dignity can permit such acts to persist under any label or tag.
The impact of sexual violence extends far beyond the physical. The victims, many of whom are reportedly students and young women face severe psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and long-term emotional scars which can disrupt their education, careers, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Moreover, such incidents create an environment of fear and insecurity, especially for women and girls.
The public spaces become unsafe for them. To them, violence against them seem normalized and so, society as they know it begins to fracture.
Under Nigerian law, rape and sexual assault are serious criminal offenses punishable by significant prison terms. The Violence Against Persons Act and various state laws provide clear frameworks for prosecuting such crimes.
Perpetrators of these heinous acts must be Identified, arrested, Prosecuted and Given penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes.
There must be no room for impunity. Failure to act decisively sends a dangerous message that such behavior is tolerated and thus further encourages this damning act.
To prevent the recurrence of such atrocities, a multi-pronged approach is essential. Traditional rulers, community leaders, and law enforcers must be engaged to reject and publicly denounce these practices. Cultural reform must come from within as well as from legal frameworks. Communities must be educated about human rights, consent, and the legal consequences of sexual violence. Universities and local institutions must ensure the safety of their students and collaborate with authorities in preventing such incidents. We must establish safe reporting channels, witness protection systems, and survivor-centered justice processes. Creation of oversight bodies to monitor festivals and public gatherings, ensuring compliance with human rights standards should be considered.
The continued existence of practices that enable sexual violence is an indictment of our collective conscience. Traditions that harm, degrade, or dehumanize have no place in a just society and abolition of these practices is as moral as it is legal.
The events reported in Ozoro must serve as a turning point. Silence, denial, or cultural relativism cannot be allowed to obscure the truth. Sexual violence will always be a crime, regardless of context.
The Nigerian Bar Association, Human Rights Institute pledges to take a leading role in advocating for justice, supporting victims, and pushing for systemic reforms. The fruitful steps we take against horror stories like this will be testament to the kind of society Nigeria chooses to be.
Sabastine Anyia Esq
NBA 1st Vice President & Chairman NBA Human Rights Institute.
