There have been condemnations by many Nigerians after a group of masquerade in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State on Sunday beat a nurse to pulp some days ago
The action has attracted outrage, with individuals and groups demanding justice for the nurse who was racing to her duty call.
The victim has been identified as Miss Blessing Ogbonna, a staff of a private hospital in Nsukka.
In a video trending online, the nurse, properly kitted, was flogged until she fell down from a motorbike.
As she managed to get up and run, the hordes of masquerades continued beating her till she fell into a deep drainage.
Miss Blessing said a tipper blocked her view while she was riding to the hospital, adding that before she could see the masquerades, it was too late to run.
While calling for justice for her and other victims, she disclosed that she had remained traumatised as they showed her no mercy.
The development has drawn the ire of many Nigerians, who are calling for the outright ban of the ‘Oriokpa Nsukka masquerade’, which they said was now notorious for committing all manners of crime.
Apart from always beating people to a pulp for not parting with money, they have also been accused of bearing arms.
Reacting to the sad incident, a rights group, Heroine Women Foundation said the action of the masqueraded and their handlers must be probed and proper sanctions meted out on them.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Amb. Onyi Mama said this act against the female nurse shouldn’t be tolerated by the relevant authorities.
Similarly, a pressure group in the Nsukka zone, Otobo Nsukka Cultural Zone Community Developmental Initiative, has rallied authorities to ensure justice for the nurse.
In a statement signed by Prince Chibeze Onah, Convener and Agu Chineme, Head of Administration, the group announced that it has traced the nurse to where she is receiving treatment and that justice was underway.
Also speaking on the development, a renowned university don, Professor Damina Opata described the development as disturbing.
Opata, a professor of English and literary studies said “The current Oriokpa phenomenon is a very disturbing trend. Oriokpa has not always been like that. It has become a threat to peace and security. But it can still be restored, to a very large extent, to what it used to be.
“Oriokpa is part of the Omaba masking system. Some people call it ugwa. In the olden days, Oriokpa did not beat strangers, it did not beat any person carrying a child; it did not beat any person who on being pursued ran into a yam farm; when pursuing a young person and the person bent down, touching the soil as a mark of surrender, the Oriokpa would use the cain it is wielding to touch the person at the back, and let go. The Oriokpa did not beat married women.
“Beyond these, the Oriokpa was like a cultural and moral guard. If there was a man who habitually wasted himself on a widow, a group of Oriokpa would compose a satirical song about the man and his exploits and sing it around the community at night. If there was a young lady or girl who was habituated to going from one man’s bed to another, the same type of song would apply to her.
“If there were young boys who were becoming hooligans, the same musical pattern would apply to them. They even composed songs about known thieves in the community. Through this method, they helped to enforce some sense of morality in the community.
Meanwhile traditional ruler of the Nsukka community is yet to react to the incident.
Outrage, condemnations as masquerades beat female nurse to pulp in Nsukka
