August 3, 2026
A yet-to-be-identified female TikTok user narrowly escaped tragedy after she allegedly filmed a procession linked to the annual Oloolu Masquerade Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State.Videos of the woman undergoing traditional cleansing at the Oloolu compound have since gone viral and sparked debate online.Speaking on the matter, Chief Solomon Oloko, spokesperson to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, clarified that the woman did not record the sacred Oloolu masquerade itself. “She did not capture Oloolu; she mistook it for Alawo.
We spoke with the Mogaji of Oloolu compound and he confirmed that the woman filmed Alawo of Oloolu on the street thinking it was the main masquerade,” Oloko said.According to him, shortly after posting the video, the woman began to experience strange health issues. Her family then contacted the Oloolu custodians.
“After posting it, she noticed her blood was drying up. Her family reached out to the Oloolu people and they attended to her according to tradition,” he explained.Oloko added that women are forbidden from seeing Oloolu. “We have always told people to obey the rules. Women are not supposed to see Oloolu, but out of curiosity, she disobeyed,” he said.
He, however, could not confirm social media claims that she disguised as a man to record the event. “I cannot confirm the disguise story. What I know is that she took the video on the street,” he noted.Footage online showed the content creator with a shaved head, dressed in red, surrounded by traditional worshippers during the cleansing. Giant snails and a ram were reportedly used for the rites, while another video showed a goat being slaughtered and its blood applied as part of the ritual.Ibadan-based content creator Ayo Adams also shared on X on Monday that he visited the compound and was told the woman is recovering.
“We were at Oloolu’s compound this morning and they said the lady is alive. Last Thursday, Wasilat secretly recorded the Oloolu crowd in Oremeji. On Friday she reported to security operatives about her health, linking it to the video. Police took her and her family to the compound for rites. She was seen circling the Ogun shrine.
The compound secretary confirmed she has reunited with her family and is recuperating,” Adams wrote.The Oloolu Festival is celebrated annually by descendants of the Oloolu lineage. It draws traditional rulers, worshippers and visitors across Yorubaland for prayers, sacrifices, drumming, dancing and processions aimed at seeking peace, protection and prosperity. Unlike other public masquerade events, Oloolu is guided by strict taboos, including bans on filming or photographing certain parts of the procession.
