Members of the Okoye family in the Umuawulu community in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State are seeking justice for the alleged killing of their father, Chief Shadrach Okoye, by a popular masquerade.

Okoye was said to have been punched to death by the said masquerade after he refused to give it money.

Speaking to our correspondent in Awka, on Friday, the first son of the deceased, Chidubem, said the incident happened on December 26, 2023, while his father was accompanying a friend who visited him on the said day.

Chidubem lamented that the corpse of the deceased had been dumped in the mortuary since his murder following hindrances the family encountered in the search for justice and the burial of their father.

He said, “My father, Chief Okoye, left his house alive to accompany his friend and resident of the community who visited to fete with him in the spirit of the Christmas season on that fateful day, only to be brought back as a corpse moments later.

“My father and his friend met about four masquerades on the road as they were going, one of whom refused to allow him to pass, even after the other three masquerades had moved on.

“The unyielding masquerade requested money from my father and insisted that he must give him money before he would pass.

“My father told him that he didn’t have any money on him, and explained to him that he just came out empty-handed to see off his friend. But the masquerade insisted, calling him a cunning person, and vowing that he would never allow him to pass if he didn’t give him money. The masquerade said my dad’s friend was free to pass, even if he didn’t give him money.

“They initially thought it was a joke until they noticed that the masquerade was mean. So, my father’s friend dipped his hand into his pocket, brought out N500, and gave it to the masquerade, to save the situation and bail out my father whom the masquerade was even pushing and threatening with a cane as he was talking.”

He explained that the masquerade, after collecting the money from his father’s friend, still insisted that the deceased must give him his own money, hence, pushing him and threatening to deal with him.

He added, “As the masquerade was threatening my father to give him money, he uncovered his face, probably for him and the people around to see that he was not smiling; and he then gave him (Okoye) a close-range heavy punch on the chest, pushed him one more time, left him there and went away.

“When he punched him, my father bent down and started gasping for breath, complaining of his chest, before the masquerade now pushed him down, left him there, and went away, still raining abuse on my father for having wasted his time.

“When the masquerade was leaving, the people around and my father’s friend called him, but he ignored them, telling them to abandon my father there, that he was just pretending and faking everything he was doing then, and would still stand up after a short while.

“As this was happening, my father started stifling, and when people noticed that he was no longer himself before they could get a tricycle to rush him to the hospital, he gave up the ghost there and then. He died in pain.”

He revealed that his late father, a petty trader, whose wife died in 2003, had a serious heart problem before he met his death in the hands of the masquerade.

Chidubem said the people around the scene of the incident identified the masquerade as “Ifechukwu”, a 19-year-old indigene of the community.

He added that the culprit had fled the community since the incident.

According to him, while the matter has been reported to the Central Police Station in Awka and the traditional ruler of Umuawulu, nothing much has been dones as the police said they would also not do anything on the matter until the suspect is arrested.

When contacted for inquiry and clarification on the matter, the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Egwuonwu, said the matter is was being handled by a committee.

He added that he would not comment until the committee finishes its task and gives him the report.

However, the state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed that the incident was reported at the CPS Division in Awka, said the matter was still under investigation

“The matter is still being investigated please,” Ikenga said.