By Kingston Magare 23.3.2026
The Police in Delta State has claimed that no woman has come forward to report that she was raped during the Ozoro festival that ended last with sexual assault allegations.
Several viral videos on social media showed women being chased down and groped by men and the occasion which holds every year and popularly known as the Alue-Do festival was dubbed “Ozoro rape festival,” much to the chagrin of the citizens of the community, who saw their town become famous in such a salacious manner.
But speaking during Channels TV The Morning Brief programme, Delta State Police Spokesperson Bright Edafe said: “It is important to state clearly that among the four girls that were interviewed on Sunday, no one, not one of them, said they were raped. Up till this very moment, we have not had any official reports that anybody was raped.
“It was not a rape festival. It was a festival organised by a chief priest to pray for barren women seeking the fruit of the womb. That was the intention.”
He noted that until women who were actually rape during the festival come forward, that is the only time the police will investigate and prosecute suspects.
“The law does not work on emotions; the law works on available evidence and statements of witnesses. For the fact that we have not had a witness who says ‘I was raped’, and the evidence does not show that anybody was raped, sexual assault is what we would be investigating,” Edafe said.
He added that however, 16 individuals are under arrest for investigations.
He stated that the four women seen in the video being harassed are receiving treatment at the expense of the Delta State government and also psychological support to help them recover from the trauma.