‘Cross,’ a young man from Amankpo Umu-Ezike, Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, Enugu State, was reportedly killed in a fight between masquerade worshippers at the nearby Nua community, also in Aku.
It has come to light that two rival masquerade factions are arguing over which set of dates should be universally recognized as the one and only day on which the Odo Masquerade should return to the spirit world following the annual festival.
Although some residents of Nua village Aku claimed to have paraded and sent the Odo Ugwuishihe Masquerade to the spirit realm on August 7, others in Aku refused to believe them, instead believing that the mask’s last voyage should occur on August 31.
According to Vangaurd, Chinedu Okike, the Divisional Police Officer of the Igbo-Etiti Police Division, and several other Aku citizens were injured to varying degrees by gunfire during the melee.
It was also learned that over a hundred locals need medical attention after the tragedy.
An anonymous witness told Vangaurd that the fight took place at Elu-Orie Nua Aku at 4 p.m. on Monday.
According to him, hostilities broke out when a large group of worshipers of the Odo masquerade escorted one Odo masquerade named Ugwuishihe to Elu-Orie Nua for a last rite before he died on August 31, 2023.
At Elu-Orie Nua, the Odo masquerade and her worshipers were met by a volley of stones by a group of Nua boys. The boys from Nua started shooting as the worshippers got closer. The DPO for the Ogbede Police Division was among those killed in the ensuing gunfight.
The DPO was shot, and the men of the Nigeria Police Force who were there to oversee the safe passage of the Odo masquerade through all the villages resorted to using tear gas to drive back the fleeing crowds.
The two police vans “they came with were damaged by Nua boys when they were throwing stones at the police people,” according to the source.
According to the same source, the police eventually caught a suspect named Mr. Kenneth who had been among those firing on the worshippers, and those who had been shot were brought to various hospitals.
News crews found Cross on a hospital bed with many gunshot wounds, including one that destroyed his manhood and pierced through his thigh, at Attah Memorial Hospital, where one of the victims was transported.
The injured DPO stated, “We merely went to Aku to ensure there was peace and order since Odo masquerade and her worshippers visit several villages today. After making our way through Obie village without incident, the Nua came out of hiding and began assaulting us.
I was hurt, and our cars got trashed. Our job is to keep the calm in every neighborhood, yet the adversaries of the police force attacked us instead.
Hon. Jude Amunabor, Vice Chairman of Igbo-Etiti LGA, responded to the attack by condemning it and promising that authorities at the state and local levels will investigate its causes.
He told the populace that lawbreakers would be severely punished by the state.
Enugu State Police Command spokesman Daniel Ndukwe also verified the occurrence, saying that one male suspect had been apprehended and that peace had been restored in the neighborhood.
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