06/08/2026
PRESS RELEASE
FROM ORO TO OLÓÒLÙ: BARBARIC PRACTICES AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS MUST END IN OYO STATE
Ansarul Huda
No Individual or Group Is Above the Constitution
OYO, NIGERIA | 5 August 2026
The Ansarul Huda Islamic Organization (AHIO) expresses profound concern over what appears to be a disturbing pattern of violations of the fundamental rights of innocent citizens in Oyo State under the guise of cultural and spiritual practices.
Barely days after the conclusion of the 2026 Oro Festival, during which women and girls in several communities were compelled to remain indoors under threats of traditional sanctions, another disturbing incident has emerged from Oremeji, Ibadan. The allegations made by Mrs Wasilat—including unlawful detention, coercion, degrading treatment, public humiliation and extortion—have once again brought to the forefront the urgent need to protect the constitutional rights of every citizen.
For decades, disturbing reports have surfaced from different parts of Oyo State alleging that innocent citizens have been subjected to intimidation, unlawful confinement, degrading treatment, and other abuses under the guise of traditional or spiritual practices. While Ansarul Huda recognizes and respects the constitutional right of every community to preserve its lawful cultural heritage, no tradition, belief, or custom can supersede the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or justify violations of fundamental human rights.
It is both tragic and unacceptable that in the twenty-first century, citizens are still allegedly subjected to unlawful detention, forced rituals, public humiliation, coercion, intimidation, and degrading treatment. Human civilization has advanced beyond the era where fear, superstition, or extra-legal authority can be used to deprive citizens of their liberty and dignity. Such barbaric practices, wherever they occur and whoever perpetrates them, must come to an end.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees every Nigerian the right to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of conscience, and equal protection under the law. These rights are inalienable and cannot be suspended by festivals, traditional beliefs, spiritual claims, or the actions of private individuals.
No individual, self-acclaimed spiritual leader, traditional institution, shrine, or private group has the legal authority to arrest, detain, interrogate, punish, intimidate, or compel any Nigerian to make confessions or undergo rituals outside the due process of law. Such powers belong exclusively to constitutionally recognized law enforcement agencies acting within the limits of the law.
The allegations emerging from Oremeji are too serious to be ignored. They call for an immediate, independent, transparent, and impartial investigation. If anyone is found to have participated in unlawful detention, coercion, degrading treatment, extortion, or any other criminal conduct, such persons must be brought to justice irrespective of their status, influence, or social standing.
Ansarul Huda therefore calls on the Oyo State Government, the Inspector-General of Police, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and the Attorney-General of Oyo State to immediately investigate these allegations and ensure that justice is served. We also call on the authorities to provide adequate protection for Mrs Wasilat, her family, and all witnesses from intimidation or retaliation.
The Organization equally urges the Oyo State Government to take proactive measures to ensure that no woman or any other citizen is again compelled to remain indoors, unlawfully detained, publicly humiliated, or deprived of his or her constitutional rights under the guise of culture, tradition, or spirituality.
The events surrounding the Oro Festival and the disturbing allegations arising from Oremeji should serve as a wake-up call to the Government and all law enforcement agencies. A government committed to justice cannot remain indifferent when citizens allege that their constitutional rights have been trampled upon. Failure to act decisively risks normalizing impunity and encouraging future violations.
Ansarul Huda believes that Oyo State can preserve its rich cultural heritage without sacrificing the dignity, liberty, and constitutional rights of its citizens. Respect for culture must never become a licence for oppression. Tradition must never become an excuse for injustice. Spirituality must never become a tool for intimidation. The Constitution remains the supreme law of the land.
We therefore call on the Oyo State Government to demonstrate, through concrete action, that the rule of law prevails over fear, coercion, and impunity. The era in which innocent citizens could allegedly be intimidated, humiliated, confined, or compelled to submit to unlawful practices without consequences must come to a definitive end.
The twenty-first century has no place for barbaric practices that degrade human dignity and violate fundamental rights. Oyo State must choose justice over impunity, law over lawlessness, and human dignity over oppression.
Justice for Wasilat. Justice for Every Victim. Justice for Oyo State common citizens
Signed:
Akintola Ismail Akinbode (Phd)
Ansarul Huda Islamic Organization (AHIO)
5 August 2026