A TikToker, Wasilat Olalere, has allegedA TikToker, Wasilat Olalere, has alleged that she was compelled to falsely claim she became ill after recording the annual Oloolu masquerade procession in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Olalere made the allegation during an interview with an Islamic cleric in a video that surfaced online on Wednesday. She insisted she neither saw the revered masquerade nor suffered any strange illness, contrary to claims made in a widely circulated video recorded after her release.

According to her, she only filmed security personnel and residents gathered in anticipation of the annual outing of the Oloolu masquerade before posting the clip on TikTok.

“I recorded Amotekun vehicles that were parked and people who were in front of our house waiting for Oloolu masquerade. I just captioned the video that Oloolu was around Atolu and that people should watch their movement so as not to come in contact with him.

“When I posted the video, people started reaching out to me that I should pull it down. I did immediately. I didn’t know that many had saved it,” she said.

Olalere alleged that shortly after deleting the video, men she identified as members of the Oloolu traditional institution, popularly known as Sokoti, stormed her shop, threatened her and later took her away despite appeals from residents.

She claimed she was initially detained at Agungun Police Station before being granted bail.

“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. As soon as I got bailed out, they took me in another vehicle, saying we were going to Ode Aje to perform some traditional rites for me,” she alleged.

Olalere further claimed that she and her family were instructed to provide items for the alleged ritual, including a goat, red cloth and a blade, before she underwent what she described as a cleansing ceremony.

“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.

“After that, they recorded me and told me to say that since I saw Oloolu, I had been unwell and bleeding all over my body. They also forced me to say that I was the one who came for cleansing.

“Nothing happened to me. I didn’t see any blood, not even my menstrual period. They called my husband in and collected ₦400,000 after we bought all the things for the traditional rites,” she alleged.

The controversy began after a video allegedly showing the Oloolu masquerade circulated on social media, drawing criticism from custodians of the traditional institution, who argued that the masquerade is not meant to be recorded or publicly displayed.

Following the incident, another video emerged showing Olalere claiming she became seriously ill after recording the masquerade and underwent traditional cleansing. She now alleges those statements were made under duress.

Responding to the controversy earlier, the Family Secretary of the Oloolu masquerade, Oluwo Ishola Akeem, denied allegations that Olalere was assaulted.

He maintained that she voluntarily sought traditional appeasement after violating long-standing cultural norms associated with the masquerade and denied reports that she was harmed during the process.

Akeem also dismissed claims that she died after the rites, insisting the cleansing was carried out in accordance with tradition following consultations with her family.

However, Olalere’s latest account directly contradicts that position, as she alleged that the traditional rites, the recorded confession and the payment of ₦400,000 were all carried out under coercion.