Olubadan Suspends Egungun Festival Over Violence

The Olubadan of Ibadan, Moshood Olalekan Balogun has called for the temporary termination of the city’s ongoing Egungun festival due to rising incidents of violence, arson, and shop looting in Oyo’s capital city.

The Egungun festival, an annual community event held in South West Nigeria, serves to honour the Yoruba ancestors. “Egungun” is the Yoruba term for masquerade.

In a Sunday statement released by Oladele Ogunsola, his personal media aide, the traditional ruler expressed concerns over the violent acts carried out by some hooligans using the festival as a cover in Ibadan.

Balogun has called an urgent meeting with the leaders of the masquerades, locally known as ‘Alaagbaa,’ on July 17 at the historic Aliiwo palace in Agodi.

The traditional ruler conveyed his disappointment about the outbreak of violence during the annual festival, calling it a regrettable occurrence and a disrespect to his palace.

Earlier on Wednesday, he had criticized the violent episodes that took place during the festival in the Alafara area of Ibadan.

Ogunsola said, “As if the warning was just a blabbing, the same thing was reported on Saturday on a scale that made the previous one a child’s play.

“I warned seriously against what is happening when the festival was to commence and the assurances I got then were that nothing untoward would accompany the festival.

“But the reports coming to me have been at variance with those assurances I earlier got from the masquerades’ leaders.

“No responsible leader would fold his arms when a majority of those subjects one superintendent over are in agony and living in perpetual fear just because of the activities of a few misguided elements who find it difficult to be law-abiding.

“This is why the suspension clause has to be invoked and how long it lasts would be determined by the outcome of the meeting of Monday afternoon.

“I’m for peace and there’s zero tolerance for whatever it is that will not give my people peace of mind.”

The monarch charged security agencies to maintain peace and order while urging them that “whoever flouts the suspension order under whatever guise, must be handled like a criminal”.