The president-general of the Ozoro Progress Union, Asiafa Berkeley, apologised for the violence recorded during the festival, stating that it is traditionally a fertility rite and not a “rape festival.”

Also on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Mr Berkeley said the festival, practised for centuries in Isoko land, had never recorded assaults.

“This assault has never happened in Ozoro. I have never heard about a rape case in Ozoro, and nobody gave those youths permission to do what they did,” he said.

Viral videos showed different scenes of ladies being chased, dragged, and molested by scores of men on the streets of Ozoro during the gathering, which many tagged a “rape festival.”

“It’s not a rape festival, it’s a symbolic festival for fertility,” he said. Mr Berkeley explained that, according to beliefs, young unmarried women are expected to stay indoors during such periods.

“It’s an old tradition in Isoko land. In the olden days, young girls who are 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 who are not married, but for women who are married, you can offer prayers for them to get pregnant.

“So, the restriction for young girls not to come out is that young girls who are not married should not come out, so they don’t get pregnant. That’s their belief,” the community leader explained.

Mr Berkeley, however, said the event was “hijacked by hoodlums” who were not part of the festival.

“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,” he said, offering an apology over the incident.

“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,” he said.

He added that the traditional ruler has called for a meeting to review such festivals, noting that some practices may need to be changed.

“This is a modern world, we are in the 21st century. Some of these laws have to be reviewed,” he said.