Osun man dies in fight over N8,000 Egungun proceeds

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A disagreement over the sharing of N8,000 proceeds from a masquerade procession in Ilare, Osun State, has reportedly turned deadly, leaving a man identified as Bukunmi dead.

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Sunday PUNCH gathered that the incident occurred on Friday during the Egungun festival after Bukunmi allegedly got into a fatal altercation with his friends, Femi and Pelumi, over the money made during the celebration.

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Two eyewitnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the trio had participated in the masquerade procession before retiring to a spot to share their earnings.

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According to them, trouble started during the sharing of the N8,000, when Pelumi and Bukunmi, who were said to be family members, disagreed, prompting Femi to intervene.

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Narrating the incident, another participant in the procession said, “At around 7:30pm on Friday, boys in Ilare town were celebrating Egungun festival, and they collected money from people during the celebration. At the end of the procession, the three people who were together in their own group were to share a sum of N8,000 that they had made.

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“One Pelumi and Bukunmi, both members of the same family, had a misunderstanding, and Femi intervened and prevailed on the two of them. Suddenly, Bukunmi attacked Femi, who was mediating. He hit him in the mouth, and that angered the mediator, who allegedly stabbed Bukunmi with a knife.

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“After the incident, the people around rushed Bukunmi to the hospital. Those at the scene were on the verge of attacking Femi, but some operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps rescued and handed him over to the police in Esa Oke Division.

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“News later filtered in that Bukunmi eventually died of the injury he sustained during the incident. The knife used to perpetrate the act, the corpse of the deceased and the suspect were all taken away by the police.”

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Confirming the incident, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the suspect is already in custody.

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“We are aware of the incident. The suspect is with the police. The corpse has been deposited in the mortuary for autopsy. Investigation is on. We have to follow the due process to unravel the circumstances surrounding the death,” Ojelabi said.

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