The Police in Enugu State said that a masquerade arrested for assaulting a woman has been arraigned in court in Nsukka.
A statement by the Command’s spokesman DSP Daniel Ndukwe on Thursday said the masquerade was intercepted and arrested on May 12, 2024 around 3.45 p.m. by operatives of the Nsukka sector of the command’s Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad.
According to Ndukwe, the masquerade, popularly known as Oriokpa, was caught physically assaulting a woman at Ugwuoye Junction, Nsukka, when the operatives arrested it.
Ndukwe noted that the masquerader, later identified as one Ugwuoke Ebube, aged 22, was arraigned in court on Wednesday in Nsukka even as he noted that the court later granted him bail.
Giving a detailed explanation, Ndukwe said that an investigation carried out by the command into the case suggested that the suspect was part of a group of masqueraders 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 police spokesman, however, quoted the state Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, to have condemned the act, while warning those intending to hide under the guise of culturally celebrating masquerades to commit such criminal act of assaulting 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 on hand.
