A masquerade was on Sunday crushed to death by a tricycle in Anambra State.
The incident, which happened in Awka, the state capital, left the victim's head open.
It was gathered that the masquerade appeared in celebration of the usual Imo Awka Festival, during which the indigenes celebrate the town's god, which is symbolized in a monkey.
This year's egwu Imo Awka Festival is expected to commence on May 19 and climax on May 24.
It is widely known in Awka that despite the prevalence of monkeys in the town and the havoc they wreck, no one dares to harm it.
Though the celebration spans within a week in the month of May, but as a way of drumming awareness for the upcoming event, masquerading youths take to the streets in masquerade costumes, long before its commencement.
They also carry along with them canes, with which they engage in flogging competition with other masquerades, while some others block the way of motorists to get financial inducements.
The exercise usually starts far before May, and ends during the grand finale of the festival, a period that spans more than one month in most cases.
However, today, Sunday, a boy in masquerade costumes was involved in a fatal accident after he was knocked down by a tricycle.
"This afternoon (Sunday) in Awka, Imo Awka masquerades were seen everywhere. One small boy (in a costume) masquerade was hit by a Keke NAPEP and his head crushed. It was indeed a sad day," an eyewitness told DAILY POST.
The tricycle operator was instantly arrested.