How 2025 Igue festival in Benin ended

The 2025 Igue Festival, otherwise known as Ugie, was brought to a close on Sunday with a solemn thanksgiving service at the Holy Aruosa Cathedral, Benin City, by the Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II.

The thanksgiving service, dedicated to God and the royal ancestors, marked the climax of the annual festival, which is central to the cultural and traditional heritage of the Benin Kingdom.

Oba Ewuare II arrived at the cathedral in company of members of the royal family, palace chiefs and functionaries, Dukes (Enigie), village heads, leaders of various guilds, as well as priests, priestesses and other cultural groups, who gathered to offer prayers and gratitude for the successful celebration of the sacred rites.

During the service, the Aruosa Church choir rendered special hymns and gave an account of their stewardship to God, adding colour and reverence to the thanksgiving ceremony.

In his sermon, the presiding priest of Holy Aruosa Cathedral, Ohen-Osa Igbinoghodua Edebiri, expressed concern over the breakdown of family values and the alarming rise in social vices, particularly within families.

Ohen-Osa Edebiri reaffirmed that the Benin throne was divinely instituted in accordance with God’s ordinance, warning that agents of destabilisation in Edo State and Nigeria would ultimately face divine judgement.

He urged the worshippers to shun unlawful and abominable acts capable of disrupting societal harmony, stressing that such behaviours invite disgrace and the wrath of God.

The service concluded with prayers for peace, stability and prosperity in the Benin Kingdom, Edo State and the nation at large, as the curtain was officially drawn on the 2025 Igue Festival.

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