State Govt Declares Masquerade Wanted For Punishing 71-Yr-Old Man To Death

Anambra State Government has declared one Ifechukwu Nweke, wanted for k!lling a 71-year-old man, Shedrack Okoye, while masquerading at Umuawulu community in Awka South Local Government Area.

It was gathered that the 19-year-old suspect, from Unuenu quarters, Umuawulu, punched Okoye of Okpala-Nduka kindred of Enugu quarters, also in Umuawulu, to death after he refused to give him money.

The incident happened on December 26, 2023, while the deceased was accompanying a friend who visited him.

Reacting to the incident in his office at the Jerome Udorji Secretariat, Awka, on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. the State Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, comrade Don Onyenji stated that the act is against the state’s law on masquerading enacted in 2022 which specified that communities using masquerades as a form of entertainment, during festivals or festivities should have an arena where people seeking such fun should go and enjoy themselves.

According to Onyenji, the state’s law stipulates that on no account should a masquerade or masquerade obstruct people’s movement block a community’s road or cause any problem in a community he said that masquerading as a culture is all about fun and entertainment.

He said that it is against the law for the particular masquerade to stop people going on their way and talk less of k!lling someone.

The Commissioner made it clear that it is a murder case which must be tackled with every seriousness it deserves, noting that the culprit must face the law no matter how long it takes.