"The arrested masquerade was on an outing with some boys, and they got to where Femi Makanjuola was and they demanded money from him, but he refused to give them. It led to an argument and in the process, the young man was beaten up and also stabbed in the chest," the Police spokesman said.
A rampaging masquerade, who was later identified as one Olu Olowokere, has been paraded by the Ondo State Police Command for allegedly stabbing a job seeker to death in Akure.
Olowokere was nabbed after he allegedly killed Femi Makujuola, who recently secured a job with Dangote Cement Company Office in Benin, Edo city.
Makanjuola was killed on Monday, same day he was scheduled to resume at his new job.
The incident, which occurred at the Olomoyeye street in Oke Aro area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, has thrown the family of the deceased into mourning.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the 30-year-old job seeker was killed after he refused to give money to the masquerade and his boys.
"The deceased, who had prepared to resume work on Monday at the Dangote Cement Office in Benin, had gone out of the house to shop for some food ingredients, before he was stabbed," one of the eyewitnesses said.
Some neighbours told SaharaReporters that Makunjuola had been having issues with some boys in the streets, who are accomplices of the rampaging masquerade.
Femi Joseph, Spokesman of the Police in Ondo State who confirmed the incident, paraded the culprit before journalists in Akure. Joseph explained that a preliminary investigation had commenced into the murder case. He also said the 'Chief Priest' of the masquerade had also been arrested by the police and was assisting with relevant information.
"Everywhere in the world, what we know about masquerade dance is to entertain the people but here it is the contrary in Akure. The arrested masquerade was on an outing with some boys, and they got to where Femi Makanjuola was and they demanded money from him, but he refused to give them. It led to an argument and in the process, the young man was beaten up and also stabbed in the chest.
"We have commenced investigation into the murder case to apprehend the other accomplices involved in the crime," Joseph said.
During interrogation, the arrested masquerade denied involvement in the killing of Makanjuola, stating that the killing was masterminded by one of his followers after a traditional festival in the town.
He said: "I am not the one that killed the boy; it was one of the two masquerades that accompanied me that did it and they are currently on the run. The two masquerades went back to town after our festival and went to participate the evil to nail me.
"I was surprised when Police came to my house around 12am, that I killed someone. I later realised that it was the two boys that killed him."