On Sunday, May 5, 2018, the Ebonyi state government stopped Nigerian highlife singer, Flavour, from performing in Abakaliki, the state capital, following a stampede and allegations of rape and criminal activities from his last event in Enugu state.
Flavour was slated to perform but was prevented by the state government when police swarmed the venue to walk fans out.
According to a report by Vanguard Newspaper, Kenneth Ugballa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Security, led a team of police officers into the venue.
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The Ebonyi State Government confirms the report
Confirming the report, the governor’s special adviser argued that the shutdown was to prevent a possible repetition of what happened during the last show in Enugu last month. There were reports that some ladies were attacked and raped while the show went on.
ALSO READ: Police investigate allegations of rape at Flavour's concert in Enugu
Why this is significant?
This is not the first time news of rape and assault are arising from a music concert. However, this is the first time a state government will take active measures to prevent a recurrence.
In November 2017, there were reports that some ladies who attended a concert organised by Nigerian rapper, Phyno, were attacked and raped during the event. Phyno took to Twitter to assure everyone that investigations were ongoing but there has been no follow up reports since then.
A few days before that, a video surface online involving singer, D’banj, stopping a group of people from sexually harassing a girl.