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Police in Nigeria say 15 people have been arrested following allegations of sexual assault at a community festival in the southern Delta state. Videos circulated online showing young men openly attacking women who were on their own. The clips sparked widespread anger, leading to the hashtag #StopRapingWomen to trend on social media, and renewed calls for accountability over gender-based violence. Delta state police have rejected claims circulating online that the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro was a “rape festival”. Local spokesperson Bright Edafe told Channels TV on Monday that no formal report of rape had been made in connection with the festival. The videos, taken during the Alue-Do fertility festival in the city of Ozoro, show groups of young men chasing, stripping, grabbing and assaulting women in public spaces, in some cases while people are filming. The police spokesman described the scenes as “alarming, disgusting and embarrassing” and said they had arrested several suspects identified from the videos and transferred them to the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Edafe told Channels: “We have spoken to four girls and all of them said nobody raped them.” Among those detained is a community leader widely named as the organiser of the event. The police say investigations are continuing. Some witnesses, activists and residents say women were warned not to go out during parts of the festival, and that those seen outside were deliberately targeted. This has raised concerns that sexual violence may have been organised or tolerated under the cover of tradition. Rights groups say that even if it is not clear whether anyone was raped, the documented acts – including forced stripping, grabbing and public humiliation -constitute serious gender-based violence under Nigerian law. The King of Ozoro has rejected suggestions that the Alue-Do festival condones sexual assault, describing it as a fertility rite that was “misinterpreted and abused by some youths”. Traditional leaders also say that no rape occurred. They admit that two women were harassed, but stressing that such acts are criminal, not cultural. The Delta state government has backed this view, adding that no recognised festival in the state permits sexual assault and that any violence should be treated strictly as a crime. Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who has roots in Delta state, condemned the alleged assaults and urged security agencies to prosecute all offenders. In a signed statement, she said no culture justified violating women and girls, praised police for recent arrests, and encouraged victims to seek medical and psychological support.

March 23, 2026

Former Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju has resurfaced a day after his reported disappearance, which led to fears he may have been abducted. Speaking to local Citizen TV station on Monday afternoon, he said he had gone into hiding after being followed by an unmarked vehicle. He said that on realising he was being trailed, […]

It was a night of jubilation in Morocco, but anger in Senegal after the decision to strip the Senegalese national side of their continental football title and hand it to their North African rivals. Two months after the final whistle blew at a contentious and acrimonious final in Rabat, news came through late on Tuesday […]

The Senegalese government has called for an “independent international investigation” into “suspected corruption” at African football’s governing body after it stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and awarded it to Morocco. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in January’s final but the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result on Tuesday because […]

King Charles has hosted a spectacular state banquet for the president and first lady of Nigeria, praising the strengths of Nigeria’s partnership with the UK. After greeting the 160 guests in the Yoruba language, the King spoke of the “living bridge” of the Nigerian community in the UK, in a speech in St George’s Hall […]

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March 19, 2026

In the Johannesburg suburb of Greenside, a large group of protesters of all ages and backgrounds are waving placards and banging empty plastic bottles together. “We want water, we want water!” they chant. Northern Johannesburg is known for its plush leafy suburbs. But after years of intermittent water shortages in South Africa, residents say they […]

A Chinese man and his Kenyan associate have been charged with illegally dealing in wildlife species after they were caught trying to smuggle more than 2,000 live queen garden ants out of Kenya. Zhang Kequn was arrested at the international airport in the capital Nairobi last week after authorities discovered the large consignment of ants […]

Morocco have been declared the winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result of the final following Senegal’s controversial walk-off. Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the […]

Fifa has sanctioned the national football teams of Nigeria and DR Congo following disciplinary incidents during their 2026 World Cup continental play-off in November last year. According to the disciplinary overview released by Fifa’s judicial body, both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the DR Congo Football Association (Fecofa) were found guilty of separate breaches […]

A former member of an elite police unit has been charged with the murder of a whistleblower who testified at a major police corruption inquiry in South Africa. Matipandile Sotheni, 41, appeared in court accused of killing Marius van der Merwe in December last year. Sotheni is accused of shooting dead Van der Merwe in […]

Kenya’s foreign minister says Russia has agreed to stop deploying Kenyan nationals to fight in the war in Ukraine, after talks in Moscow. Sitting beside his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Musalia Mudavadi said both sides had agreed that Kenyans would no longer be recruited through Russia’s defence ministry. “They will no longer be eligible to […]


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