A group of female traditional worshippers from across Egbaland on Friday organised a spiritual procession through major parts of Abeokuta, Ogun state, calling for the safe release of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oyo state.
The worshippers, dressed in white traditional attire and carrying symbolic items of worship, visited several sacred sites across the Ogun State capital to offer prayers and perform rites aimed at securing the freedom of the victims and addressing growing insecurity in the region.
The procession was led by the Yeye Olokun Agbaye and Olori of Ilawo Kingdom, Her Royal Majesty Omolara Fashola-MacGregor. She described the exercise as a spiritual appeal to ancestral spirits and traditional deities to intervene in the security challenges confronting communities across the country.
During the event, participants visited notable traditional sites including the shrines at Olumo Rock, Lisabi Agbongbo-Akala, and Sodeke before concluding the exercise at the Itoku shrine in Abeokuta, where additional prayers and traditional rites were conducted.
Speaking with journalists, Fashola-MacGregor said the gathering was motivated by concern over the continued captivity of the abducted pupils and their teachers, as well as other Nigerians held by kidnappers in different parts of the country.
According to her, the traditional institution remains committed to promoting peace, unity and communal wellbeing, stressing that insecurity requires the collective efforts of government, security agencies, religious bodies and traditional authorities.
She said the prayers were offered for the protection of innocent citizens, the safe return of those in captivity, and the restoration of peace across Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.
The traditional ruler expressed optimism that sincere prayers and unity among the people could help bring relief to affected families, while urging stakeholders to intensify efforts toward ending the security challenges facing the country.
The worshippers specifically appealed for the release of the abducted Oyo schoolchildren within seven days, expressing hope that both spiritual and security interventions would yield positive results.
