There was pandemonium at the Ikun-Ekiti Central Mosque in Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State as masquerades invade and attacked the imam and other worshippers in the Mosque.
According to reports, the Muslim faithful had gathered in the mosque Tuesday night in preparation to break their Ramadan fast and for the evening prayer by 7p.m when the masquerades struck.
An eye witness report said that the masquerades attacked the worshippers with cudgels, stone and iron, inflicting injuries on them. About five of the worshippers were said to have sustained varying degrees of injury while two cars parked at the mosque’s premises was also vandalized.
The Imam, Alhaji Abdul-Rasak Abubakar-Bello, according to the witness was rushed to the Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, where he was been threated and stitched on his head.
Narrating his ordeal the Imam said “the Muslims were held hostage in the mosque for four hours by the masquerades, who threatened to kill us. There was no way we could escape because they were waiting for us outside after initially attacking us inside the mosque with iron rods and woods. When we succeeded in locking ourselves inside the mosque, they started throwing stones at us”
The Imam who accused Divisional Police Office in the area of ignoring the rescue calls put to him by the Muslim community also accused a traditional ruler of being the brain behind the attack.
While the traditional ruler is yet to reply call and text messages sent to him The National Council of Muslim Youth Organizations, NACOMYO in a statement by the Ekiti state coordinator Tajudeen Ahmed, and the Secretary, Musa Tijani, stated that the king had earlier warned the Muslims to keep their women away from the mosque on Tuesday, being the grand finale of their masquerade festival in a letter sent to the Muslim community of Ikun-Ekiti to ensure that their women are kept indoors which the Muslim community of Ikun-Ekiti ensured total compliance by keeping all their female members indoors.
