Former Governor James Ibori Punctures

Former Governor James Ibori Punctures

 

OpenLife Nigeria reports that former governor James Ibori of Delta State has added his voice to the raging controversial “sexual” festival in Ozoro.

In the past days, there were reports that at least, six female students of Southern Delta University in Delta State were sexually harassed during a traditional festival in Ozoro, Isoko North Local Government Area.
This information was availed by the Students’ Union Government (SUG).

The SUG President, Oribelua Precious, added that the union was still compiling reports.
The SUG leader noted that some of the affected students had already returned home since the institution was not in session.

“About six of our female students have so far come forward.

“They said they were sexually harassed. Some of them also lost personal belongings during the incident,” he stated.

Community authorities also aligned with the SUG’s account. The President-General of Ozoro Kingdom, Chief Berkeley Asiafa, attributed the incident to hoodlums who allegedly hijacked the festival.

Asiafa said the disturbance occurred during the Aluedo festival in Uruamudhu quarters, a traditional rite believed to address infertility and promote prosperity in the community.

“There was no rape. What happened was harassment by hoodlums who took advantage of the situation,” he said.

He explained that the festival restricts participation to married women and others seeking fertility blessings, adding that some youths exploited the restriction to target women found outside during the event.

According to him, three victims confirmed to the Delta State Commissioner of Police that they were sexually molested during a visit to the community.

He further disclosed that some victims were chased, assaulted, and robbed. In one instance, a young woman reportedly had her clothes torn, while another claimed she was dispossessed of ₦10,000.

Reacting through a statement titled:
“THE OZORO FESTIVAL INCIDENT: AN URHOBO-ISOKO PERSPECTIVE, Ibori said:

“I have generally refrained from intervening in policy or public matters. However, this issue is far too serious to ignore.

I speak from a position of personal experience, having lived my entire life in Urhobo Land, including my eight-year tenure as Governor of Delta State.

I must confess that this is the first time I am hearing of a festival of this nature.

You can imagine my shock when I was contacted about this matter two days ago. My initial reaction was, “This cannot be true, but let me verify and revert.” Every right-thinking person must condemn violence in any form, especially when the victim is a defenseless person.

I personally made several efforts to ascertain the veracity of the social media reports and obtained an account from the traditional institution in Ozoro.

From the facts available to me, even the custodian of our tradition whose authority is required for such festivals was not consulted.

It is therefore unfair to ascribe such violence to the entire Isoko people, and most unfortunate that the Urhobo people have also been implicated.

One commentator even made a definitive pronouncement implicating the Ekene festival in orgies unleashed on girls and women. This is totally untrue.

Festivals among Urhobo and Isoko people, apart from being celebratory, are woven around historical and spiritual motifs.

They memorialize past events, reinforce belief systems, and are typically anchored in an essence sustained by strong moral values.

What happened is condemnable, and it is commendable that security agencies have now intervened to unravel what really transpired.

It is my hope that this investigation will set the record straight: there is no “rape festival” among Urhobo and Isoko people.

Furthermore, I will work with the VC of the University and the Ozoro traditional institution to engage the youth so that this serves as a clear signal that actions that degenerate our values, our cultural norms and the role of women in our society will not be tolerated.