The Osun State government has advised tourists, devotees and visitors to the grand finale of the annual Osun Osogbo Festival on Friday not to drink water from the Osun River because of contamination.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Rafiu Isamotu, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Osogbo.
According to him, the authorities started a campaign of public education to warn people against drinking the festival’s water since it had been tainted by artisanal miners’ activities and was unsafe for consumption.
Isamotu stated that public health officials would be present at the grove throughout the festival to further educate attendees on the risks associated with drinking the water.
The Osun Osogbo Festival is an annual event usually celebrated in August at the Osun Sacred Grove, in worship of the goddess of fertility. The festival is usually attended by tourists from all over the world, as well as devotees.
Tourists, visitors, and devotees drank from the ancient River during the festival in hopes of receiving divine guidance; some even took the water home to use as bathwater.
Adekunle Fatai, the Osun Osogbo Grove’s curator and site manager, estimates that 60,000 tourists and devotees would attend the grand finale on Friday.
According to reports, the river was significantly contaminated with harmful substances that are harmful to human health, such as mercury, lead, cyanide, and others.
A geographical information analysis and laboratory tests carried out by a non-governmental organisation, Urban Alert, also affirmed the presence of heavy elements in the water.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
