The President-General of the Ozoro Progress Union, Asiafa Berkeley, has provided clarity on why young unmarried girls are traditionally forbidden from appearing during certain moments of the Alue-Do festival in Delta State.
Berkeley clarified this while condemning the harassment of women during the event, where viral videos showed men groping and assaulting women in broad daylight—leading some social media users to describe the event as a “rape festival.”
Speaking on Channels TV’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, Berkeley explained that the restriction is rooted in long-standing cultural beliefs tied to fertility.
He noted that unmarried girls are expected to stay indoors because the rituals are meant for married women seeking children.
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“It’s an old tradition in Isoko land,” Berkeley said. “In the olden days, young girls who were 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.”
Explaining the logic behind the restriction, he continued: “So, the restriction for young girls not to come out is that young girls who were 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.”
Berkeley strongly condemned the actions seen in the viral videos, insisting the youths acted without authorization.
“This assault has never happened in Ozoro,” he stated. “I have never heard about a rape case in Ozoro, and nobody gave those youths permission to do what they did.”
He rejected claims that the event promotes sexual violence, stressing, “It’s not a rape festival; it’s a symbolic festival for fertility.”
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He added that the festival is for “fertility and peace” and that the leadership did not sanction the violence.
“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,” he said.
Acknowledging the need for change, Berkeley noted, “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.”
Finally, he apologized and accepted responsibility for the security lapse: “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. If we had put adequate security on ground, those hoodlums wouldn’t have done what they did. As the President-General of the Ozoro kingdom, I take the whole blame.”
