By Tolulope Oke

TikToker Wasilat Olalere has alleged that she was forced to claim she fell ill after recording the popular Ibadan-based Oloolu masquerade, saying she was subjected to traditional rites against her will.

Olalere made the allegation during an interview with an Islamic cleric in Ibadan, where she denied earlier claims that she suffered a strange ailment after capturing the masquerade in a viral TikTok video.

She said she only recorded security operatives and residents gathered around her area ahead of the annual outing of the Oloolu masquerade before uploading the video on TikTok.

According to her, she deleted the video shortly after receiving warnings from people who asked her to take it down, but some individuals had already saved and circulated it.

Olalere alleged that some men linked to the Oloolu traditional institution later stormed her shop, threatened her and took her away despite pleas from residents.

“They said Olubadan had requested that I come. They said I would go to jail. I was begging them endlessly. They locked me up at Agungun Police Station and I was bailed out on Saturday,” she said.

The TikToker further alleged that after she was released on bail, she was taken to Ode Aje, where she was made to undergo traditional rites.

She claimed that her family was instructed to provide items including a goat, red cloth and a blade before the ceremony was performed.

“They told my mum to get a goat, red cloth and blade because she was the one that would scrape off my hair. They put the goat on my neck, told me to sit on a mortar, then killed the goat on my head and instructed me to let the blood dry completely on me,” she alleged.

Olalere also claimed that she was recorded after the ceremony and forced to say that she became sick and suffered bleeding after seeing the Oloolu masquerade.

“They forced me to say that since I saw Oloolu, I had been unwell and bleeding all over my body. Nothing happened to me. I didn’t see any blood, not even my menstrual period,” she said.

She alleged that her husband was contacted during the process and that ₦400,000 was collected after the family provided the items required for the rites.

The controversy began after Olalere’s video allegedly showing the Oloolu masquerade triggered reactions from custodians of the traditional institution, who said the revered figure was not meant to be recorded or publicly displayed.

A later video emerged showing Olalere claiming she had become seriously ill after recording the masquerade and had undergone traditional cleansing.

However, the Family Secretary of the Oloolu masquerade, Oluwo Ishola Akeem, denied allegations of assault, insisting that Olalere voluntarily came for the rites after admitting wrongdoing.

He said she sought traditional appeasement after violating cultural practices surrounding the Oloolu masquerade and denied claims that members of the family forced her into the process.