Juliana Francis
The Enugu State Police Command has arrested and arraigned a masquerade over an allegation of having a fondness for attacking the female gender in the state.
The Command’s spokesman, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Daniel Ndukwe, said that Police Operatives serving in the Nsukka Sector of the Enugu State Command’s Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad, on May 12, 2024, around 3.45 p.m., intercepted and arrested a masquerade, popularly called Oriokpa, while the wearer was sighted physically assaulting a female victim at Ugwuoye Junction, Nsukka.
The masquerader was later identified as one Ugwuoke Ebube, 22, of Enugu Road, Nsukka.
Ndukwe said: “An investigation into the case suggests that the suspect was part of a group of masquerades that similarly assaulted a female nurse riding a motorcycle, as captured in a viral video in April 2024.
“He was today, May 22, 2024, arraigned in the Nsukka Magistrate Court of Enugu State, Nigeria, but was granted bail by the court.”
The Commissioner of Police, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, while condemning the act, has warned those intending to hide under the guise of culturally celebrating masquerades to commit such criminal acts of assault against fellow citizens to desist forthwith.
He stressed that the Command will henceforth not hesitate to bring anyone found wanting to book, just as in the case at hand.
