By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti

Ikole-Ekiti, the headquarters of Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, was thrown into pandemonium on Monday when the annual Egungun celebration in the town suddenly turned bloody.

It was reliably gathered that the annual festival, which began on Saturday in the community amidst dancing and singing from various quarters, saw masquerades from different areas coming out in large numbers, accompanied by their supporters, dancing towards the palace of the traditional monarch in the town, Oba Adewumi Ajibade Fasiku, to mark the annual celebration.

An indigene of the town, who briefed our correspondent on the event, said trouble started at about 5:30 pm on the fateful day when a popular masquerade in the town, accompanied by some youths and family members, was dancing towards the palace.

He was said to have encountered another masquerade, also accompanied by its followers, at a particular traditional spot located in the middle of the town. The followers, who were mainly youths, were said to have blocked the road, demanding that the masquerade pay a certain amount of money before he could perform the traditional rite at the spot.

The development, which generated serious arguments among the supporters of the two prominent masquerades, later resulted in a serious fracas during which bottles, cutlasses, and other dangerous weapons were freely used by the supporters of the two masquerades.

At the end of the fracas, which lasted for about thirty minutes, several masquerade supporters were said to have sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a health facility in the town for urgent medical attention.

Similarly, property estimated to be worth thousands of naira was said to have been destroyed during the crisis.

When contacted on the matter, a senior police officer at the Ikole-Ekiti Divisional Police Station, who did not want his name mentioned in print, confirmed the report and explained that seven persons who are followers of the two masquerades have been arrested.

He added that the heads of the families of the two masquerades have also been invited for questioning. He disclosed that the report of the crisis has been forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department at the Ekiti State Police Command, Ado-Ekiti, and that an investigation has begun.