The violence occurred over the plan by some people to celebrate Odo Masquerade Festival on Monday.
There is palpable tension in Aku in the Igbo-Etiti local government area of Enugu state after one person was confirmed killed during a clash between two masquerade groups.
The violence occurred over the plan by some people to celebrate Odo Masquerade Festival on Monday.
SaharaReporters gathered that trouble started when two ardent supporters of Odo masquerade miscalculated the time for the closing of the Masquerade Year. One group insisted that the time for the event fell on Monday, August 28, 2023, while another group said the celebration falls on the second week of September 2023.
"Unfortunately, an attempt by the group of adherents who believed in the celebration was on Monday (yesterday) to execute the ceremony triggered a clash with those who believe it should be done in September," a community source said.
Meanwhile, the Enugu state police command has confirmed the unfortunate incident.
Confirming the incident in a terse statement, the command's spokesman DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said the incident happened on Monday, August 28, at about 4 p.m.
Ndukwe said: "One male suspect has been arrested and a firearm recovered from him, in connection with the clash between rival groups in Aku community of Igbo-Etiti LGA, over the celebration of Odo Masquerade festival, on 28/08/2024 at about 4 pm.
"The incident led to the shooting and murder of one male victim, and injury of others, including police operatives deployed to calm the situation."
He, however, noted that normalcy had been restored in the community, adding the state police commissioner had ordered the deployment of more personnel to investigate the incident and bring perpetrators to justice.
Ndukwe said the police commissioner also appealed to the residents of the community to be law-abiding and cooperate with security agencies.