Oloolu festival : Female TikToker breaks silence, denies filming masquerade

A female TikTok content creator at the center of a controversy during the Oloolu Masquerade Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State, has denied filming the sacred Oloolu masquerade and refuted widespread social media rumors of her death. Identified as Wasilat, the TikToker stated during an interview that she did not record the revered traditional figure.

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I am not dead. I did not capture the Oloolu masquerade. May I not be implicated; I did not record Oloolu.

Wasilat explained that on the day of the incident, she was near her shop when she saw an Amotekun vehicle pass by. She filmed a procession, which she posted on social media, unaware that it was a sensitive event. She recounted that people in the TikTok comments urged her to delete the video, and the following day, individuals approached her at her shop. She expressed confusion as to why eyewitnesses did not defend her at the time.

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So I filmed it and posted it on social media. Everyone in the TikTok comment section asked me to delete it. The following day, while I was at the shop, they came to meet me there.

Sources from the Olubadan of Ibadanland's palace clarified that the woman did not record the Oloolu masquerade itself but mistakenly captured Alawo Oloolu, a figure associated with the Oloolu tradition. According to Chief Adeola Oloko, spokesperson for the Olubadan, the Mogaji of the Oloolu compound confirmed the incident. After uploading the footage, the woman reportedly experienced unusual health challenges, prompting her family to seek intervention from traditional custodians.

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She did not capture Oloolu; she mistook it for Alawo. We contacted the Mogaji of the Oloolu compound, and he confirmed that a woman who mistook Alawo of Oloolu for the real Oloolu masquerade captured it on the street

Oloko added that the woman's family reached out to the Oloolu custodians, who attended to her according to tradition. He reiterated that women are instructed not to see Oloolu, but the woman disobeyed out of curiosity. Videos circulating online showed the TikToker undergoing traditional cleansing rites at the Oloolu compound.

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After posting it, she realised the blood in her body began to dry. So her family reached out to the Oloolu people immediately, and they attended to her in accordance with the tradition of the land.