- Enugu residents beg Governor Mbah to ban atrocities of masquerades
A young female nurse, Blessing Ogbonna had on Sunday, April 28, 2024, received an emergency telephone call to attend to a patient at the hospital where she works, but, on her way to carry out the essential, she was attacked by some masquerades at Obeechera, Nsukka Local government Area of Enugu State and was later rushed to the hospital by some residents.
This is one of the many agonies that are being inflicted on innocent residents of Nsukka by masquerades.
The Point gathered that this set of masked individuals don’t only use their canes to assault girls, women and students, they also extort and rob passersby without any hindrance either by the government or security agencies.
No gain saying that masquerades are a very important component of the Nigerian people. The Igbo people value them and regard them as gods. Specifically, in Nsukka cultural zone in Enugu State, masquerades come in different colours, shapes and sizes and appear at various times of the year depending on communities.
Some of the popular masquerades in the Nsukka zone are Oriokpa of Nsukka, Ogede of Orba, Odo in Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of the state and Akatakpa of Obollo Afor both in in Udenu Local Government Area among others. These masquerades, before now, represent culture; entertain the people with their dance, acrobatics movements and cultural demonstrations.
Unfortunately, this beautiful aspect of the Igbo culture has become a nightmare to the people of Nsukka zone as today; traditional rulers, church leaders, leaders of thought and indeed security agencies are faced with the challenge of controlling the atrocities of masquerades.
The wanton barbarism and brutality associated with masquerades in some communities have become a big source of concern; as they molest visitors and natives at will including girls and women, particularly during masquerade festivals. In fact, certain persons have lost their lives in the hands of masquerades in the area.
In Nsukka township, there is a particular set of masquerades called ‘Oriokpa’ that torment citizens every Sunday. They beat road users who are not willing to part with their money, harass females, extort and harm people who bump into them. These masquerades take to streets every Sunday morning, causing traffic gridlock by stopping motorists and motorcyclists, demanding for money and using their canes on those who don’t comply with their modus operandi.
The most recent of their onslaughts, according to The Point investigation, is the attack on Ogbonna, a female nurse who was flogged into drainage by masquerades at Obeechera, Nsukka Local government area.
It was gathered that the masquerades known as Oriokpa, flogged the lady down from her motorcycle and followed up the merciless attack on her until she fell into a big drainage by the roadside.
According to residents of the area, the masquerades from Ihe Owere Nsukka have become notorious for attacking men, women and girls in the area and a move for their ban has become imminent.
After attacking Ogbonna, she was hospitalized for days with bruises all over her body.
These brutal figures deemed to be masked spirits and otherwise known as Akatakpa have also become thorns in the flesh of students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and other undergraduates who share the town with them.
“These masquerades, especially the ones they call Oriokpa, are very wicked. Aside from the fact that they beat us with sticks whenever they come out, they also extort us. They even have the audacity of stating the actual amount they would collect from us. They are heartless and mean. There is a particular group of masquerades that stay from Ihe Owere down to UNN main gate, they beat us heartlessly without mercy and cause injuries on our bodies.
“Most every Sunday morning, they come out and start terrorizing those that would go to churches and other places. Because of this, most people hide inside their houses in fear. Some of us don’t go to churches outside our campus because of the Oriokpa masquerades. They extort motorists, other road users and even seek mobile money transfer from us whenever we tell them there is no cash. Most of these masquerades are from Ihe Owerre autonomous community in Nsukka Local Government,” a student of UNN who did not want to be named told The Point.
Also condemning the alleged barbaric acts of the masquerades, an Enugu State indigene, Chijinkem Ugwuanyi asked the governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, to ban the activities of the masquerades.
“These masquerades attacked an innocent female nurse who was on essential duty. She was riding her motorcycle and these people started beating her. She fell down and still, these hooligans followed her till she fell inside a ditch.
“These Oriokpa Nsukka masquerades that have been beating, intimidating and harassing innocent road users along the highway have become terror to the people and I think Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah should give an order banning these masquerades. They have caused serious and untimely deaths to road users. Sometimes they even rob people. Governor Peter Mbah should please act fast since it is like their traditional rulers and youths are supporting them. Things are getting out of hand,” he lamented.
Reacting to the sad incident, a non-governmental organisation, Heroine Women Foundation, said the action of the masqueraded beings and their handlers must be probed and proper sanctions meted out on them.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Onyi Mama, said this act against women and nurses shouldn’t be tolerated by the relevant authorities.
“Watching the video of the attack on this helpless lady (Ogbonna) is so painful and I wonder what has happened to our humanity,” Mama said.
She added, “What is even sadder is that this is a nurse in the business of saving lives and was on her way to work when these conscienceless individuals descended on her and were having fun in her pain. How do you even begin to define this as a cultural display? I call on the relevant authorities to round up anyone involved in this act to serve as a deterrent to others.”
Another resident, Ikechukwu Emmanuel wrote to the state governor, saying, “Dear Enugu state governor, His Excellency Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, please ban Oriokpa Nsukka and any other violent masquerades in the state. If for any reason they have to operate, let the traditional rulers, President Generals and youth leaders of the communities sign an undertaking with Nigeria Police Force to be held responsible should they attack people on the road or turn violent.”
How Oriokpa masquerades became deadly
The Point gathered that the Oriokpa is one of the smaller masquerades in the hierarchy which is unique to the Nsukka community.
Its costume is made of raffia or bag shreds and it often appears in white apparel during the Omaba festival in Nsukka. Among its various features is the long Ogirisi cane it carries that has currently turned the festival into a charade of decreasing worth.
In an interview with an elderly man who is a native of the community (name withheld), it was gathered that the Oriokpa was not formerly as violent as it is presently.
The senior citizen stated that prior to this time, the masquerades never flogged women and each time it met a young man, it may flog him slightly on his legs as a good gesture and admiration of the youthfulness of the individual.
“Things have changed,” he asserted and noted that one of the reasons why most of the masquerades flog women or ladies can be attributed to the ladies who might have insulted them or failed to run at the sight of them as custom demands.
Victims of masquerades’ attacks recount ordeals
Solomon Obetta, a native of Enugu-Ezike Local Government Area of the state who resides in Nsukka recounted his unpleasant experience with the masquerades saying he ran into 11 of these masquerades at Nru junction, on September 3, 2023 and that they flogged him brutally despite collecting money from him.
“Three among them snatched the money from my hand and went away while I was devising a means to share the sum among them. The remaining ones started beating me simply because they did not get a share of the money.”
Obetta noted that, “Before it was not as bad as this. They don’t beat people like this before but recently, everything has changed.”
However, the change did not just occur this year or the last because there have been complaints of their violence in previous years.
The cruelty of some of these masquerades to visitors and natives did not spare servants of God. Recently, it was gathered that two Catholic priests were waylaid and beaten to stupor by daredevil masquerades in Ogbodu-Aba, Udenu Local Government Area of the state.
Condemning the attack on priests, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Godfrey Onah described it as the height of barbarism.
He warned all masquerades in the zone to steer clear of his church members to avoid his unpleasant reaction and the wrath of God.
At a funeral in Ogbodu-Aba, Bishop Onah said “This is the height of barbarism and wickedness. How can you mask yourself and come out to extort people and beat innocent citizens on the road? This is pure wickedness. If the traditional rulers of these communities don’t know what to do with masquerades, I will not allow masquerades to continue molesting and wreaking havoc on my fellow worshippers, especially my priests.”
Many people are unhappy that masquerades that should be a source of unification and cultural development have become a threat to the people of the area and have therefore called for their outright ban and arrest of those who attacked Nurse Ogbonna.
