Wasilat Olalere, the TikToker whose viral video supposedly showed the Oloolu masquerade and sparked outrage last week, says she was forced to falsely claim she became ill after filming the traditional figure.
Olalere spoke about the controversy in an interview with an Islamic cleric in Ibadan, Oyo State, revealing she did not see the Oloolu masquerade or experience any strange illness. This contradicts an earlier video, recorded after her release from police custody, where she seemed to admit to both.
She explained that she only filmed security officers and local residents who were waiting for the masquerade’s annual event, then posted the video on TikTok.
Olalere did not share more information about who she said pressured her or how her earlier confession was made.
“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,” she said.
Olalere said she took down the video soon after posting it.
“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.
She said that men she recognised as members of the Oloolu traditional institution came to her shop, threatened her, and took her away.
She said she was detained at Agungun police station and released on bail on Saturday. Right after her release, she said she was taken in another vehicle to Ode Aje for traditional rites.
“They told me that Olubadan had asked for me and that I would go to jail. I kept begging them. They locked me up at Agungun Police Station, and I was bailed out on Saturday. As soon as I was released, they took me in another vehicle, saying we were going to Ode Aje for some traditional rites,” she said.
Olalere also said her family was told to bring certain items, such as a goat, red cloth, and a blade, before she was made to go through cleansing rituals.
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She said that after the rites, she was recorded and made to say she had been unwell and bleeding all over her body since seeing the masquerade, and that she had come for cleansing on her own.
“They told my mum to get a goat, red cloth, and a blade because she was the one who 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 told me to let the blood dry completely on me,” she said.
“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 N400,000 after we bought all the things for the traditional rites.”
The controversy surrounding Olalere’s initial video reignited debates on social media over the sanctity of traditional masquerades in Yoruba culture, where capturing certain revered figures is considered taboo.
