The President-General of the Ozoro Progress Union, Asiafa Berkeley, has condemned the actions of some youths in the kingdom, Ozoro, during a recent festival.
During the Alue-Do festival in one of the communities in Ozoro, mobs of men were seen in viral videos harassing and assaulting women in broad daylight, with some social media users describing the event as a “rape festival”.
Speaking on The Morning Brief on Monday, Berkeley said the youths acted on their own accord, insisting that nobody gave them permission to carry out the acts.
“This assault has never happened in Ozoro. I have never heard about a rape case in Ozoro, and nobody gave those youths permission to do what they did,” he said on the breakfast show.
He, however, denied that the festival is a rape festival, explaining that it is meant to be used to pray for women seeking the fruit of the womb.
“It’s not a rape festival; it’s a symbolic festival for fertility,” Berkeley emphasised, adding that it has been practised for centuries.
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According to the community leader, young unmarried women are not supposed to come out at a certain time during the festival.
Asked why young girls were forbidden to come out, Berkeley said, “It’s an old tradition in Isoko land. In the olden days, young girls who are not married are not supposed to get pregnant; that means the family is going to be mocked. So, you don’t offer prayers to girls that are not married, but for women that are married, you can offer prayers for them to get pregnant.
“So, the restriction for young girls not to come out is that young girls who are not married should not come out so they don’t get pregnant. That’s their belief. Some people might believe, some might not believe. I’m a Christian, so many persons are Christians; some Christians might not believe, but it has worked for certain people or some people still want it.”
He maintained that the actions of the youths were neither approved by the king nor community leaders.
“When I called them, when I called the executives and elders of the Uramudo, they said it was hoodlums that are not part of their festival. The festival is for fertility and peace,” he said.
Berkeley disclosed that the king has called for a meeting to take place before the end of the week, hinting that “some of these community festivals have to be reviewed”.
“This is a modern world; we are in the 21st century. We are no more in the 18th or 19th century, so some of these laws have to be reviewed.”
Speaking further, the Ozoro Progress Union President-General described the incident as unfortunate, taking responsibility for the actions, which he acknowledged have brought shame to the kingdom.
“A good festival that was planned by the Uramudo community was hijacked by hoodlums, which has really brought shame to the kingdom, Isoko community, Delta State and the entire country, and I want to again apologise for what happened.
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