Vanguard Metro learnt that two masquerades in police custody were arrested along Nru community, after engaging the police team in physical combat.
Some onlookers were said to have joined the fray by stoning the police men and raining abuses on them. In spite of this, the two erring masquerade were eventually overpowered and arrested. Other masked individuals were said to have fled into nearby communities and bushes.
Reports revealed that the two masquerades brutally attacked a staff of Radio Nigeria, Dream FM Station, Nsukka and an academic doctor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka who lodged different complaints at both the Area Command and Nsukka Urban Police Division, prompting the police in their numbers to move into the communities.
One of the arrested men, simply identified as Omeje Ugochukwu (22) who hails from Amaozalla community in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State, informed that he was arrested in connection with some masquerades that operated in the morning hours and inflicted a head injury on their victim in an attempt to collect money from him.
He pointed out that the masquerades were celebrating the annual festival of Ihe/Owere autonomous commu-nity by entertaining inhabitants, visitors to the community and the University town at large but not to maim people. He noted that he used the masquerade to beg for money to support himself as an apprentice welder but not to apply force to compel people to give him money. He blamed some masquerades who operated earlier in the morning, describing them as being more volatile and wicked, and had forcefully extorted money from people.
He maintained that they did not know that the men chasing after the masquerades were police men as they were in plain clothes. He said that he had no dangerous weapon on him except a small cane and palm fruit when he was arrested with the other masquerade, pointing out that what he collected before his arrest and detention was only N20.00. The second masque-rade who identified himself as Anayo Ezema (23) and hails from Isi-Uja, Ihe/Owere community, said he is a vulcaniser.
It could be recalled that two weeks ago, two masquerades at Obukpa community along Oboli-Afor road robbed one Chinoso Ezewaji, a trader, of N57,000.00 and his handset. The two masquerades were identified as Kenechukwu Eze and Chima Mama.
The Area Commander, Nigeria Police Command Nsukka, ACP Musa Haladu, while confirming the arrest of the two masquerades, advised communities in the Command not to allow masquerades disturb people from going about their normal businesses, adding that every community in the country has one culture and the other which shall not be used to disturb the existing peace in a community. He warned that Nsukka is an urban town that has the mixture of different people and culture.
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