Soldiers, masquerades battle in Warri

There was uproar on Monday, at Koko in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, when soldiers deployed to keep surveillance in the community clashed with masquerades, arresting four in the process.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that troubled began Sunday afternoon, when a masquerade accosted a soldier, who was in mufti.

The soldier, in anger, was said to have responded with a fight.

It was, however, gathered that the masquerades had notified relevant security agencies before embarking on their ritual mission in the community.

 Fisticuffs allegedly ensued, when youths accompanying the masquerades, having seen the sacrilege meted out on their ancestral rituals, descended on the soldier, leading to a serious showdown.

The soldier, embarrassed, was said to have escaped to their base, mobilised his colleagues and returned to pick up four of the marauding masquerades at different points in the community. 

The arrested masquerades, it was gathered, were forcefully dragged into a waiting Toyota Hilux van to the military base.

Nigerian Tribune further gathered that a female soldier was said to have engaged interrogating the masquerades, who by tradition, should speak to no one until it returns to its shrine.

This sacrilege, it was gathered, infuriated the whole community, who mobilised themselves and stormed the military base, demanded the release of their ancestral representatives. An appeasement process initiated on Sunday night was said to have been disrupted by the soldiers.

The imbroglio continued on Monday, when the soldiers allegedly barricaded the only access road to the town, preventing all forms of movements in the community, which is the headquarters of the local government.

A leader of Koko community, who declined mentioning his name for fear of arrest, said the soldier in mufti only came into the community to look for trouble.

He added that what the soldiers did was sacrilegious and the town needed be cleansed.

Another resident said the “police know the culture here and abide by it every year or time these masquerades are brought out for display by the entire Koko community.”

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Koko police station, however, declined to comment on the issue. However, the member representing Warri federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Dan Reyenieju, has promised to wade into the matter through the commanding officer in charge of the Koko military base. 

Source: Tribune