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The Delta State Police Command has stated that no official reports of rape have been received in connection with the Alue-Do festival in Ozoro.
The State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, told The Morning Brief on Monday that investigations are based on evidence and witness statements.
“It is important to state clearly that among the four girls that were interviewed yesterday, no one, not one of them, said they were raped,” Edafe said.
“Up till this very moment, we have not had any official reports that anybody was raped.
“The law does not work on emotions; the law works on available evidence and statements of witnesses.
“For the fact that we have not had a witness who says, ‘I was raped’, and the evidence does not show that anybody was raped, sexual assault is what we would be investigating.”
Edafe said the festival is a traditional fertility rite organised by a chief priest for women seeking to conceive and is not designed to promote sexual violence.
“It was not a rape festival. It was a festival organised by a chief priest to pray for barren women seeking the fruit of the womb. That was the intention,” he added.
He noted that key authorities, including the traditional ruler, school management, and police, were not informed prior to the event.
“For reasons best known to them, the traditional ruler of Ozoro Kingdom was not informed, the students’ union was not informed, and the school management was not informed.
“They also did not inform the police. That is why the chief priest is presently in our custody because his negligence has led to this embarrassment and to the sexual assault of these innocent girls,” Edafe stated.
The chief organiser and head of the community are among the fifteen suspects who have been taken into custody. Videos of women being harassed during the festival went viral on social media, drawing attention from the general public.
