When the Masquerade Ends in Gunfire
When the Masquerade Ends in Gunfire An editorial by Destiny Tamunoala Emmanuel | August 24, 2026 On Saturday, gunmen invaded a cultural masquerade display in Finima, Bonny, and shot up the palace of the community's traditional ruler, HRH Dagogo Brown, the Amadabo of Finima Community. The monarch narrowly escaped death. Several residents were wounded by bullets and machete cuts. Property was destroyed. The Rivers State Police Command says one suspect has been arrested; others remain at large. The stated cause is almost absurd enough to be a joke, except that people bled for it. The violence followed a dispute over cultural rites, masquerade displays, and the right of families to perform certain traditional activities. A festival. A dance. A disagreement about who gets to dance. And then gunfire. Now the context that makes this more than another community brawl. Finima sits on Bonny Island, home to the Nigeria LNG gas liquefaction plant, Trains 1 to 7, and the Bonny crude oil export ...
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