A social media user at the centre of a viral controversy involving Ibadan’s sacred Oloolu masquerade has claimed she was forced to fabricate an illness after being abducted and subjected to traditional rites.
Wasilat Olalere, whose TikTok clip triggered backlash among cultural custodians last week, clarified during an interview with an Islamic cleric on Wednesday that she neither saw the revered figure nor suffered any mysterious medical condition as previously depicted.
According to Olalere, her initial post merely featured security vehicles and waiting crowds ahead of the masquerade’s annual procession. “I recorded Amotekun vehicles that were parked and people who were in front of our house waiting for Oloolu masquerade,” she explained, adding that she advised viewers to be cautious.
Although she quickly deleted the footage following warnings, copies had already spread online, provoking anger among traditionalists who prohibit the public recording or broadcasting of the ritual figure.
Olalere detailed how men associated with the Oloolu institution, known as Sokoti, subsequently raided her shop, threatened her with imprisonment on behalf of the Olubadan, and detained her at Agungun Police Station until she posted bail on Saturday.
Upon her release, she was taken to Ode Aje, where she claims she and her family were forced to pay ₦400,000 and provide ritual items, including a goat, red cloth, and a blade.
“They told my mum to get a goat, red cloth and blade because she was the one that would scrape off my hair,” Olalere recounted, describing how the animal was slaughtered over her head before she was instructed to record a scripted confession.
“They also forced me to say that I was the one who came for cleansing,” she added, maintaining that “nothing happened to me” and that her supposed bodily bleeding was entirely staged.