Delta: Police say no rape report from Alue-Do festival

The Delta Police Command has said no victim has reported being raped during the controversial Alue-Do festival in a community in Ozoro town of the State.

Bright Edafe, the spokesperson for Delta Police Command said during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.

According to him preliminary findings do not support allegations of rape.

Edafe said none of the four girls so far interviewed so far by the police have said they were raped.

“Up till this very moment, we have not had any official reports that anybody was raped,” Edafe said while insisting that police investigations are being guided by available evidence and witness testimonies.

The Police spokesperson also said the the Alue-Do festival is a traditional fertility rite, and not designed to promote or encourage 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.

“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 however confirmed that 16 suspects are currently in custody over the incident.

According to him, the chief priest and four others were initially arrested while further analysis of video footage led to the identification and arrest of 11 additional suspects.

“This brings the total number of suspects currently in custody to 16, and they have been transferred to the State Command Headquarters to be duly investigated by the DC State CID,” Edafe stated.

Edafe said police officers visited Ozoro and the nearby Oramudu community, where they met with four victims.

Edafe faulted the organisers of the event for failing to follow due process.

He noted that key stakeholders, including the traditional ruler, the students’ union, school authorities, and the police, were not informed ahead of the gathering.

“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,” he said.

Recall that the Ozoro Kingdom Palace has distanced itself from the harassment and intimidation of women during the festival.

The Palace described the harassment of women as unacceptable and contrary to the community’s values.

It also cautioned against misinformation, insisting that such acts were never sanctioned by tradition.