Oloolu Festival: TikToker Faces Allegations of Abuse - Sowore

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, has spoken out against the alleged traditional cleansing of a female TikTok creator. This woman was taken to the Oloolu masquerade site in Ibadan after filming a procession linked to the annual festival.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Sowore called the incident an abuse of human dignity. He said any cultural practice that oppresses or discriminates should be thrown away.

“I learned today that a TikToker underwent a traditional ‘cleansing’ ritual after filming an Oloolu masquerade procession.

“While culture is important in our lives, any cultural practice that oppresses, discriminates, or is insensitive to gender should be abandoned immediately.

“Wasila was ultimately abused and stripped of her dignity by the very people who are often quick to condemn Islamists for engaging in similar acts.

“It does not matter whether such abuse is carried out by Islamists, traditionalists, or anyone else.

“Any culture, tradition, or belief system that violates human dignity is unacceptable and has no place in a just society,” he wrote.

PUNCH Online earlier reported that the TikTok creator at the center of this issue denied claims that she filmed the sacred Oloolu masquerade. She insisted that she did not record the revered figure or die, which was a popular rumor on social media.

In an interview on Lagelu FM’s Ibi Aye N Lo programme hosted by Adesoye Omotosho on Monday, the woman named Wasilat also denied reports of her death.

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

“What happened that day, last Thursday, around the Oremeji area, I don’t know what prompted me to go to our shop because I was at home.

“When I got to the shop, I didn’t even open it. I just stayed in front of the shop because we had packed up from that area.

“When I saw people passing, I saw an Amotekun vehicle passing. Oloolu did not even pass through that route.

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

“I do not know why the eyewitnesses on Thursday did not defend me. I don’t know who came up with that agenda, but I know God will judge,” she said.

PUNCH Online had previously reported that the content creator narrowly escaped death after filming a procession tied to the Oloolu Masquerade Festival. This event stirred up many reactions after videos appeared online showing her undergoing traditional cleansing at the Oloolu site.

Speaking with PUNCH Online on Monday, Chief Adeola Oloko, spokesperson for the Olubadan of Ibadanland, said the woman did not record the sacred Oloolu masquerade but mistakenly filmed Alawo Oloolu, a figure linked to the Oloolu tradition.

“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 said.

He added that after posting the video, she began experiencing unusual health issues, leading her family to seek help from the 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 according to the tradition of the land.

“We have told people to obey simple instructions; women are not supposed to see Oloolu, but out of curiosity, she disobeyed,” he said.

Oloko, however, said he could not verify 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 or photo on the street,” he added.

Videos shared online showed what looked like a public traditional cleansing ceremony, with the content creator surrounded by traditional worshippers.

She was seen with her head shaved, dressed in red clothes and taking part in rituals. Giant African snails and a ram were reportedly offered as part of the prescribed rites.

Another video appeared to show a goat slaughtered during the event, while social media users claimed her mother pleaded with the traditional custodians for mercy on her behalf.

Meanwhile, Ayo Adams, an Ibadan-based content creator who visited the Oloolu compound, said officials confirmed that the woman was alive and recovering.

“This morning, we were at Oloolu’s compound, and they informed us that the lady is alive.

“Last Thursday, Wasilat discreetly recorded Oloolu’s crowd in Oremeji area of Ibadan. On Friday, she reported to security operatives about her health condition, linking it to her previous action of recording Oloolu’s crowd.

“The police took her and her family to Oloolu’s compound to perform the necessary rites to restore her health to normal.

“As part of the rites, she was seen circling around the Ogun shrine located within Oloolu’s compound. The secretary of the compound confirmed that the lady has reunited with her family and is currently recovering,” Adams wrote on X.

When contacted by PUNCH Online on Monday, CSP Ayanlade Olayinka, spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, said the command had no record of the incident.

“I have no information about the incident because it was not reported at any nearby police station,” he said.

The annual Oloolu Festival attracts traditional rulers, worshippers, cultural lovers, and visitors from across Yorubaland.

The festival includes prayers, rituals, sacrifices, drumming, dancing, and processions to honour ancestors while seeking peace, protection, prosperity, and communal wellbeing.