A female TikTok user identified as Wasilat has reportedly undergone traditional cleansing rites after allegedly filming a procession linked to the annual Oloolu Masquerade Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The incident, which has since gone viral on social media, triggered widespread reactions after videos surfaced showing the woman participating in traditional cleansing rituals at the Oloolu compound.
Speaking on the development, the spokesperson to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Adeola Oloko, clarified that the woman did not record the sacred Oloolu masquerade itself but mistakenly filmed Alawo Oloolu, a figure associated with the Oloolu tradition.
According to him, traditional custodians confirmed that the woman captured the procession as it moved through parts of Ibadan.
“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 recorded it on the street,” Oloko said.
He further claimed that shortly after uploading the footage online, the woman developed unusual health complications, prompting her family to seek help from the Oloolu traditional custodians.
“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,” he said.
Oloko added that residents had repeatedly been warned to respect the customs surrounding the festival.
“We have told people to obey simple instructions. Women are not supposed to see Oloolu, but out of curiosity, she disobeyed,” he said.
He, however, said he could not confirm claims circulating on social media that the woman disguised herself as a man to secretly record the procession.
“I cannot confirm she disguised herself as a man. Those are accounts on social media. But she took the footage on the street,” he added.