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By Oscar Okhifo
A wave of outrage is sweeping through Oviri Olomu community in Ughelli SouthDelta: Women Begin Sex Strike Over Rape, Farms Destruction Local Government Area of Delta State, as women have declared a sex strike in protest against persistent attacks by suspected herdsmen.
The women, who took to the streets on Tuesday and Wednesday vowed to withhold cooking, trading, and sexual relations with their husbands until government and security agencies take decisive action to end the violence ravaging their community.
Chanting songs of sorrow and resistance, the highly charged protesters decried what they described as the continuous rape of women, destruction of farmlands, and general insecurity in their once-peaceful village.
Many of them carried placards bearing messages like “Enough of the killings” and “Our lives matter too.”
Mrs. Ejiro Otomiewo, one of the leaders of the protesters, said the women had been pushed to the wall.
“Our farms are no longer safe. Our daughters are being raped. Our husbands are helpless. They no longer go to their farms. Hunger is killing us. We have decided to stop cooking, trading, and even sleeping with our men until the government acts,” she said.
They accused herdsmen of attacking farmers with dangerous weapons, destroying crops, and making life unbearable in the community.
The protesters also called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the Delta State Police Command to enforce the anti-open grazing law and ensure the safety of residents.
Mrs. Patience Okparavero, another protester, said the community was under siege.
“We live in fear. You can’t go to the farm. The herdsmen are armed. They harass us, steal our harvests, and dare anyone who tries to stop them. We are tired of empty promises,” she said.
The Oviri Olomu protest adds to a growing list of community actions in Delta State against the activities of armed herders.
In recent months, similar protests have erupted in Egbo-Kokori, Ekakpamre, Abraka and other communities, all demanding government protection from violent herdsmen.
Community leaders say repeated reports and petitions have yielded no meaningful response from authorities, leaving residents to fend for themselves in the face of violence and intimidation.
With the sex strike now underway, the women of Oviri Olomu hope their voices will finally be heard not just in Asaba, but across the nation. At the time of going to press, it was not confirmed if the wife of the Governor and the Commissioners’ would join in the sex strike in solidarity with the rural women and victims of herders’s extremism and brutality.