…Hoodlums hijacked festival — President-General Isoko kingdom
…These sad tales unheard of — Pa Usikpedo
SIX female students of the Southern Delta university, Delta State, alleged that they were sexually harassed not raped during the last traditional festival in Uruamudhu quarters, Ozoro kingdom in Isoko North Local Government Area, President of the Students Union Government, SUG, Mr Oribelua Precious, has said.
President General of Ozoro kingdom, Chief Berkeley Asiafa, also said there was no rape but admitted that some females were sexually molested by hoodlums during the festival.
Speaking with Vanguard, yesterday, in Ozoro kingdom, Precious said the union was still collating the number of students affected, adding that some of the girls alleged that their personal items were stolen in the process.
Asked if the students could be invited to speak, he said they had gone home after the sad incident since the school was not in session.
“About six of our female students have so far come forward to say they passed through molestation, they were sexually harassed. None of them was raped. They have gone back home. The school is not in session,” he said.
Hoodlums hijacked the festival — Ozoro president-general
Echoing similar views, President General of Ozoro kingdom, Chief Berkeley Asiafa, said there was no rape but sexual harassment by hoodlums during the festival. He said three of the young women confirmed their ugly experience off camera to the Delta State Commissioner of Police when he visited the kingdom two days ago over the development.
Asiafa alleged that hoodlums were behind the sad incident, noting that they hijacked the festival shortly after the Chief priest of Uruamudhu quarters started his procession from the shrine where he had gone to appease the gods on behalf of the quarter.
He said: “There was no rape but women were molested during the festival in Uruamudhu quarters . The quarter has its own festival. They have a deity there called Aluedo. And the festival is named after it. Aluedo is a symbolic festival the inhabitants believe addresses challenges of barrenness among women.
“The Chief priest prays for the women. The festival also brings progress to the area. The Chief priest goes to the farms of the people to offer prayers for a bountiful harvest during planting season. That day he finished all the rituals at the shrine and on his way back, which is the practice, between the hours of 4pm and 7pm, married women seeking fruit of the womb would come to him and he would pour sand from his bowl on them and announce to them that they would have their children.
“They don’t allow unmarried girls to partake in the festival. Only married women are allowed to come before the Chief priest. Also, women that want to be single mothers are also permitted to come before the Chief priest.
“Some hoodlums who heard that girls were not supposed to come out took it upon themselves to harass girls they found on the street.
“The bike man who carried a girl that evening protected her from being harassed when the youths tried to. Also, another girl, an indigene, who they harassed said she went to buy noddles. The boys saw her on a bike, chased her and even tore her clothes. I heard of it and rushed there with the vigilantes. We also invited the police. The boys fled. She was later escorted into one restaurant, Stop and Chop. I called security men and the local vigilante that came to rescue the situation. We couldn’t arrest anyone that night, they fled.
“I can categorically tell you that no girl was raped during the festival. Three of the girls came out when the Commissioner of Police was here two days ago. The police commissioner asked them to tell the truth off camera and they said they were molested but not raped. They were harassed. It is not an African thing to make love in the open. A third girl said they stole her money. She said they took N10,000 from her. These things started happening from about 6pm that day till around 8pm.”
Asiafa lamented thathe had not had a good sleep since the ugly incident, noting that he had been getting calls from Isoko sons and daughters across the globe. “Journalists have also been coming for information on what happened. I have been getting calls all over. Since we don’t have uniform time all over some calls come as late as 2am Nigerian time,” he said.
How we rescued two girls – Eatery operator
Mr Djowah Ighenechovwen, Managing Director of an eatery “Stop and Chop ,” said with his aides they rescued two girls from the hoodlums that night.
“My staff told me that there was no movement that evening. I had to drive down to see how to take them home. I was standing outside my business premises to see how the feast was done. A girl was on a bike when the boys started harassing her. Quickly, I called my boys and we rescued the girl. We also rescued another girl. The president general of the kingdom came to join us that night,” he said.
These sad tales unheard of — Pa Usikpedo
Pa Joseph Usikpedo, a septuagenarian, retired school teacher and husband of the oldest woman (Evweya) in the community, said he was dumbfounded when he heard what hoodlums did that night.
According to him, he grew up as a child to know that the Aluedo festival is an exercise that addresses infertility problems and blesses the land.
“Aluedo festival is a ritual we met, passed on to us by our forebears. The deity blesses the community during the festival. Women who are not fertile also get pregnant. I am going to 80 years, I don’t know what happened this year. It is celebrated to appeal to the gods for our crops to produce and our women to be pregnant, fruitful. These youths don’t heed advice,” he said.
Vanguard gathered that it is not a yearly festival. It is convened by the Chief priest of the quarter with divine instructions from the gods.
“Sometimes it holds after every three years or in some cases after five years. The last one was three years ago,” Pa Usikpedo said.
Meanwhile, ordinary folks in the community were reluctant to speak to Vanguard initially. Residents feared that they could be arrested. It took a local interpreter to calm them before they could talk.
Economic activities were ongoing in the Uruamudhu quarters. Shops were open for business. The area hosts the Ozoro Area command office of the Nigeria Police force.
Vanguard’s guide, who identified himself as Othurk, said the community learned a major lesson from the outrage that greeted the ugly side of the festival, saying “we will be very careful in the future.”
