Moshood Olalekan Balogun, Olubadan of Ibadan, has ordered the suspension of the ongoing Egungun festival over reported cases of violence, arson and looting of shops in the capital city of Oyo state.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Egungun festival is a communal ceremony held annually in south-west Nigeria to honour Yoruba ancestors. Egungun is the Yoruba word for masquerade.
Balogun, in a statement issued on Sunday by Oladele Ogunsola, his personal media aide, said the atrocities were perpetrated by some hoodlums hiding under the cover of the festival in Ibadan.
The traditional ruler also summoned all the leaders of masquerades, known as ‘Alaagbaa’ in Ibadan, to an emergency meeting scheduled forJuly 17, at the ancient Aliiwo palace, Agodi.
Balogun expressed sadness over the reported cases of violence accompanying the annual festival, describing the development as unfortunate and an affront on his palace. He had, on Wednesday, condemned the violence recorded during the festival at Alafara area of Ibadan.