TikToker denies filming Oloolu masquerade, breaks silence on death rumours

The female TikTok content creator at the centre of controversy surrounding the annual Oloolu Masquerade Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State, has denied filming the sacred Oloolu masquerade and dismissed reports that she died following the incident.
Speaking on Lagelu FM’s Ibi Aye N Lo programme, hosted by Adesoye Omotosho on Monday, the woman, identified as Wasilat, said she was not dead and had not recorded the Oloolu masquerade.
“What happened that day, last Thursday, around the Oremeji axis, I don’t know what prompted me to go to our shop, because I was at home,” she said. “When I got there, I didn’t even open it. I just stood in front because we had packed up from that area. I saw an Amotekun vehicle passing; Oloolu did not pass through that route. So I filmed it and posted it online. Everyone in the comment section asked me to delete it, but the following day, while I was at the shop, they came to meet me there.”
She added that she did not understand why eyewitnesses failed to defend her account of events.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that the content creator narrowly escaped death after allegedly filming a procession linked to the festival, sparking widespread reaction after videos emerged showing her undergoing traditional cleansing rites at the Oloolu compound.
Speaking to PUNCH Online on Monday, the spokesperson to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Chief Adeola Oloko, clarified that the woman had not recorded the Oloolu masquerade itself, but had mistakenly filmed Alawo Oloolu, a related traditional figure.
“She did not capture Oloolu; she mistook it for Alawo,” Oloko said. “We contacted the Mogaji of the Oloolu compound, and he confirmed that a woman mistook the Alawo of Oloolu for the real masquerade and filmed it on the street.”
He said that after posting the footage, the woman reportedly developed unexplained health difficulties, prompting her family to seek intervention from the traditional custodians.
“After she posted it, she said the blood in her body began to dry. Her family reached out to the Oloolu people immediately, and they attended to her according to the tradition of the land,” he said. “We have told people to obey simple instructions, women are not supposed to see Oloolu, but out of curiosity, she disobeyed.”
Oloko said he could not confirm separate social media claims that the woman had 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 did take the footage on the street,” he said.
Videos circulating online showed the woman with her head shaved and dressed in red, taking part in a public cleansing ceremony surrounded by traditional worshippers, during which a ram and giant African snails were reportedly presented as part of the prescribed rites. Another clip showed a goat being slaughtered, while social media users claimed her mother had appealed to the custodians for mercy.
Ibadan-based content creator Ayo Adams, who visited the Oloolu compound, said officials had confirmed the woman was alive and recovering.
“This morning, we were at Oloolu’s compound, and they informed us that the lady is alive,” Adams wrote on X. “Last Thursday, Wasilat discreetly recorded Oloolu’s crowd in the Oremeji area of Ibadan. On Friday, she reported to security operatives about her health, linking it to her earlier action. The police took her and her family to the compound to perform the necessary rites to restore her health. She was seen circling the Ogun shrine within the compound, and the secretary confirmed she has reunited with her family and is recovering.”
When contacted by PUNCH Online on Monday, the spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, CSP Ayanlade Olayinka, said the command had no record of the incident, as it was not reported at any nearby police station as at the time of filing this report.
The annual Oloolu Festival attracts traditional rulers, worshippers, cultural enthusiasts and visitors from across Yorubaland, featuring prayers, rituals, sacrifices, drumming, dancing and processions to honour ancestors and seek peace, protection and communal wellbeing.