Scores of female traditional worshippers from across Egbaland staged a spiritual procession through major streets of Abeokuta, Ogun State on Friday, invoking deities and ancestral spirits in a bid to secure the release of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinele in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Dressed in white traditional attire and carrying paraphernalia of worship, the half-naked traditionalists visited several sacred sites across the city, including the shrines of Olumo Rock, Lisabi Agbongbo-Akala, and the great Egba warrior Sodeke, before concluding at the Itoku shrines at Orita Aje Junction in the popular Itoku Market, where prayers and traditional rites were performed.
The procession was led by Yeye Olokun Agbaye and Olori of Ilawo Kingdom, Her Royal Majesty Omolara Fashola-MacGregor, who described the exercise as a sacred appeal to deities and revered ancestral spirits to ward off evil from Yorubaland.
Speaking with journalists, HRM Fashola-MacGregor said the gathering was driven by a collective desire to seek divine mercy and protection for the abducted children, their teachers, and others still in captivity across the country.
She expressed belief that sincere and united spiritual appeal could attract divine intervention, and called for seven days within which she hoped the victims would be freed.
She also emphasized that insecurity has become a serious concern requiring the combined efforts of government, security agencies, religious groups, and traditional institutions.
During the prayers, she invoked blessings upon several prominent figures including President Bola Tinubu, the Ooni of Ife Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Alake of Egbaland Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, stressing that traditional institutions have a vital role to play in promoting peace, unity, and communal wellbeing.
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