UN Special Envoy Amb. Zino Lexili Ogazi has condemned the so‑called “Ozoro Rape Festival” in Nigeria, describing the practice as barbaric and demanding urgent international scrutiny.

In a statement, the West Africa Special Envoy for UNSCR 2250 called for immediate arrests of perpetrators and accountability from community leaders who allowed such acts to occur under the guise of tradition.

Ambassador Ogazi emphasized that culture must never be weaponized against women, stressing that the reported acts of stripping, groping, and assaulting women in public constitute crimes against humanity.

She criticized the local leadership in Ozoro for failing to protect women and accused them of enabling violence by tolerating such practices.

The envoy further called on the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the Nigerian government to investigate the incident and abolish the festival entirely.

She urged the Nigerian Diaspora to amplify the voices of victims globally, ensuring that the issue is not dismissed as a local tradition but recognized as a grave violation of human rights.

Read the full statement below:

UN Special Envoy Amb. Zino Lexili Ogazi Condemns "Barbaric" Ozoro "Rape Festival"; Demands International Scrutiny and Immediate Arrests


As a daughter of West Africa, representing the youth of our region under UNSCR 2250, I stand with the unyielding energy of a generation that refuses to stay silent to say: Culture is a crown, not a weapon.

As a girl child, I am consumed by a rage that words can barely contain. As a Special Envoy, I am appalled that in 2026, we are still debating the "cultural" right of men to hunt women like animals.

Who are these perverts who believe a "fertility rite" grants them a license to violently strip, grope, and violate human beings?

To the Ovie, the Chiefs, and the Elders of Ozoro: Is this a community or a lawless zone? If you sat in your homes or your palace while women were being hunted in your streets and stripped of their dignity in the name of a "RAPE FESTIVAL," you are not leaders: you are enablers and accomplices to a crime against humanity.

Call for International Intervention
The world is watching. I am formally calling upon the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to investigate these practices as violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Furthermore, I urge the Nigerian Diaspora to use their global platforms to ensure this crisis is not swept under the rug of local tradition. We call on the Diaspora to amplify the cries of these women until the Nigerian government fulfills its duty to protect its citizens.

Unwavering Scrutiny
Let this be clear: As a Special Envoy for UNSCR 2250, I am monitoring the legal proceedings in Delta State with unwavering scrutiny. Under the framework of Youth, Peace, and Security, my office will not look away. If the Delta State and Federal Government do not ensure that every single perpetrator caught on camera is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, it will be a confession that there is no justice in this land.
Demands for Justice

The time for "condemnation" is over. My office lays out a clear mandate for the Nigerian authorities:
* The total and immediate abolition of the "Rape Festival" and all associated barbaric practices.
* The immediate arrest and prosecution of every individual identified in social media footage.
* Stronger state protection for women’s rights, ensuring culture is never used as a shield for violence.

When you violate a woman, you don’t just satisfy a barbaric urge; you commit a murder of the spirit. I refuse to accept this level of wickedness under the guise of "culture."

Government of Nigeria, act now. We will not stop until every perpetrator is behind bars. END RAPE FESTIVAL IMMEDIATELY!

Amb. Zino Lexili Ogazi, S.SPG
West Africa Special Envoy for UNSCR 2250
International Youth Network for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250

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