There is a heavy security presence at the Osun-Osogbo groove in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, as the annual festival gradually ends.
As the 2023 Annual Osun Osogbo Festival grand finale is on Friday, security personnel from outfits are on the ground to secure the safety of tourists and festival faithful.
The Osogbo festival, which started a few weeks ago, climaxed with the procession of the maiden calabash bearer (Arugba), the Ataoja, Osun adherents, and culture enthusiasts to the ancient groove.
This platform learned that many devotees were spotted at the Osun River bank, fetching water, while some were seen saying their traditional prayers and performing other rituals.
It was gathered that Armed police officers and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel, in their patrol vehicles, are stationed at the road leading to the groove from Odi-Olowo, Osogbo.
Also, armed security personnel are at the entrance of the groove, while the police, Federal Road Safety, Departments of Security Service, and local vigilantes are all positioned within the groove.
Private security guards were also seen around the pavilion where dignitaries and hosts of the Osun-Osogbo Festival, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, the Ata-Oja of Osogbo, are expected to be seated.
While the police and the NSCDC hitherto promised a heavy security presence at the festival to secure devotees and tourists, hunters under the aegis of Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service deployed 700 personnel for the event.
