Kogi Community Initiates 103 Girls into Womanhood at Ovia Osese Festival

Kabba, Kogi State – May 3, 2025 — The people of Kabba in Kogi State held their annual Ovia Osese Festival yesterday, a revered cultural celebration that marks the formal initiation of virgin girls into womanhood.

This year’s edition saw 103 young girls publicly honored for maintaining moral discipline and undergoing traditional rites that symbolize their readiness for adult responsibilities, particularly marriage and family life.

The Ovia Osese Festival is a longstanding tradition among the Okun people of Kogi State, celebrating chastity, dignity, and the cultural heritage of the community. The event drew spectators, cultural enthusiasts, and dignitaries from across the region.

Organizers emphasized that the festival is not just about tradition but also serves to promote values of self-respect, purity, and discipline among young women in the community.

Cultural displays, music, and communal feasting were part of the celebration, with community elders encouraging the continued preservation of such rites in the face of modern social change.