Rights Lawyer Reacts To Alleged Ozoro Raping Festival, Urges Delta Government To Take Action Beyond Press Statement

 

ABUJA — In a short, searing and heart-touching tweet, human rights lawyer Ikechukwu Obasi distilled a frustration many say they recognise: “Nigeria and its 36 states/FCT has become a Republic of Press statement. Things of serious concern happens and the only thing that is done is press release. No arrests would be made. Any custom/tradition repugnant to natural justice and the law should be expunged. SAY NO TO RAPE.”

 

The phrase “Republic of Press Statement” hit a nerve because it speaks to a pattern Obasi and others have flagged for weeks: high-profile incidents are acknowledged by official statements, but prosecutions and arrests often appear slow or absent.

 

In the same breath, Obasi calls out the vicious raping festival in Ozoro, Delta State, insisting that customs or traditions repugnant to natural justice and extant law “should be expunged.” He closed with an unmistakable demand: “SAY NO TO RAPE.”

 

The post drew pained replies—including “Which one is raping festival again? What’s wrong with this country? Sad news everyday. In fact, I’m depressed right now”—a mix of disbelief and exhaustion that has trailed several recent stories.

 

Obasi’s tweet doesn’t stand alone. He has been litigating a ₦200 million fundamental-rights suit over the viral 6 March 2026 “exorcism” of a schoolgirl, and in a separate statement he signalled potential legal action against Durumi II Junior Secondary School, citing s.216(b) of the Penal Code (which penalises witchcraft accusations) and invoking the Child Rights Act.

 

That context helps explain his broader point: that beyond statements, enforcement and institutional accountability are needed, and that harmful cultural narratives—like the Raping Festival in Ozoro—must be expunged.