By Umukoro Joseph
The refusal to submit female children to a banned traditional rite has left the Ikatule family of Emu-Uno Community, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, facing a chain of threats, abductions and deaths.
At the center of the pressure is “Ogu Nwanyi,” a practice identified as female genital mutilation and prohibited under Nigerian law. The family’s resistance came at a cost. On April 28, 2026, Azukaego Ikatule’s daughter Linda Ikatule was subjected to the procedure after weeks of intimidation from community members who insisted the rite was compulsory. Linda Ikatule developed complications and died on May 5, 2026.
The pattern was not new. In 2022, the same demands forced Abanumebo Ikatule to flee Nigeria with his wife and children rather than allow his daughters to undergo the practice. On May 2, 2026, at about 11pm armed men stormed the residence of Abanumebo Ikatule in Lagos State.
They demanded to know the whereabouts of Abanumebo and his wife, saying they had been hunting for the couple to force their daughter into the rite. The attackers vowed to track them down anywhere in Nigeria.
The assault mirrors findings in the Human Rights Watch World Report 2025(https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/nigeria), which noted inadequate state protection against criminal violence targeting citizens in Nigeria.
Other community members who challenged the practice have been threatened or killed under unclear circumstances.
The Ikatules are now calling on security agencies, human rights organisations and the Delta State Government to intervene, protect the family, and enforce existing laws against harmful traditional practices.
Female genital mutilation is outlawed by the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, and by several state laws designed to shield women and children from harmful cultural practices.
This case has now graduated from the issue of FGM to one of criminal persecution and abduction of innocent citizens, with no protection from state security agencies.