Horrifying footage from southern Nigeria has ignited global fury after showing packs of men and boys hunting down women in public, ripping off their clothes and sexually assaulting them while crowds watched and filmed.

The incident unfolded during the annual Alue-Do fertility festival in Ozoro, Delta State a couple of months ago, but has gained traction online in the past few days.

What was billed as a traditional rite to bless childless couples instead produced scenes of women being chased, stripped naked and groped in the streets. Multiple videos captured the chaos, turning a local event into an international flashpoint.

Brutal 'rape festival' in Nigeria sparks outrage worldwide after horrifying video of men chasing women through streets surfaceshttps://t.co/vXqFa72QBqpic.twitter.com/FgI34Rf8uF

The clips spread rapidly across social media, with millions of views on platforms including X, Facebook and Instagram. Viewers described the event as a “rape festival,” highlighting the scale of the brutality carried out in daylight with little intervention.

The Ozoro people are a subgroup of the Isoko and live in Delta State, Nigeria.Their annual fertility festival, the Alue-Do Festival, on March 19, featured so many mob attacks on women that people are now calling it “Rape Day” on Nigerian social media.https://t.co/8AGZqPnyJDpic.twitter.com/8DJ3Bebhep

One victim, student Ezeugo Ijeoma Rosemary, recounted the attack to authorities: “Immediately I came down, they started shouting ‘hold her, hold her, that’s a woman’, and they swooped on me like bees. A large crowd started pulling my clothes until they stripped me naked. They were pulling my breasts and touching my whole body … I was shouting for help.”

She said she was rescued by a bystander but lost her phone and remains traumatized, unable to return to school.

To those saying this is a lie…watch!pic.twitter.com/ROWXTGqKNw

Delta State police launched an immediate investigation. Spokesperson Bright Edafe confirmed multiple arrests, including a comunity leader and several young men identified in the videos. “The Commissioner of Police has instructed that the suspects be transferred to the State CID without delay. The Commissioner is committed to ensuring that anyone involved will be arrested and brought to justice,” Edafe said.

Source: modernity