A younger entrepreneur brazenly peddles historic religious charms on TikTok, promising success to web fraudsters. DUBAWA investigates the reality behind this illicit commerce, its influence on Nigeria’s international repute, and the pressing want for regulation enforcement to interrupt the spell.
A dark-skinned boy, in all probability in his early twenties, started an uncommon advert in Yoruba on TikTok. Elevating a lined calabash along with his proper hand, he started, “When it’s not as when you’ve got a household that may problem you, you higher do Oshole. Don’t come to my [inbox] to ask for ‘replace’ as a result of I’m freely supplying you with one now.”
Oshole is a religious attraction that web fraudsters in Nigeria depend on to spice up their nefarious commerce. ‘Asking for updates,’ because the advert says, is a slang time period, that means the method of searching for religious fortifications to help their illicit actions.
“That is the replace, and OlaXash simply delivered it,” he mentioned enthusiastically. The remainder of the one-minute 15-second video hyped the efficacy of OlaXash’s companies for web fraudsters, additionally known as “Yahoo boys” or “G-guys.”
This isn’t the one video on-line hyping OlaXash, a vendor of religious merchandise. One other video on her Instagram web page confirmed a equally aged boy promoting OlaXash’s merchandise, together with charms for web fraudsters.
DUBAWA discovered quite a few movies on considered one of her TikTok pages, which boasts 8,308 followers and over 102,400 reactions as of seven July. OlaXash’s Instagram web page is stuffed with screenshots of critiques from her purchasers.
OlaXash additionally severely warned on-line distributors from messaging her, stating that her Oshole charms are strictly for “folks urgent telephones.” The assertion is an evasive reference to web fraudsters, whom she additionally described as “Hustle guys.”
In one other evaluate she uploaded on Instagram, OlaXash labelled her product “Yahoo cleaning soap.” The client revealed that they’d simply defrauded a sufferer of bitcoin price over N264,000 ($175).
Oshole is deeply rooted in Yoruba religious traditions. It’s designed to draw wealth and enhance the consumer’s enterprise success. The progenitors had been the Osho sect, a sorcerer cult that historically combines particular herbs, roots, and typically animal elements to make charms. When mixed and correctly invoked, Oshole is believed to affect the religious forces that govern prosperity and luck within the consumer’s favour.
Oshole shouldn’t be thought of malevolent or dangerous, as it’s believed to harmonise the consumer’s religious power with cosmic steadiness. Nonetheless, many spiritualists now indiscriminately promote the charms and different religious merchandise to perpetrators of evil, like web fraudsters, to spice up their “companies.” In the meantime, Ifayemi Elebuibon, the Araba of Osogbo land, revealed in an interview that customers should be above 40 years outdated at first, and 70 years outdated on the second utilization.
Christiana Longe, a authorized practitioner, mentioned providing religious companies turns into an offence when it aids prison actions.
“On this context, the supplier is providing religious options to people, notably these concerned in on-line crimes like Yahoo fraud. By doing so, she is offering religious companies and enabling others who obtain these companies,” she mentioned.
This sinister help from self-acclaimed spiritualists like OlaXash fuels Nigeria’s relentless battle towards web fraud. In 2024, the World Cybercrime Index, compiled by Oxford College and the College of New South Wales (UNSW) in Canberra, ranked Nigeria fifth amongst nations with the very best variety of cybercriminals globally, behind Russia, Ukraine, China, and the USA.
Between December 2024 and January 2025 alone, officers of the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) arrested over 897 fraudsters on totally different events, together with 197 foreigners. Interpol’s Operation Crimson Card, which led to the arrest of 306 suspects in seven African nations between November 2024 and February 2025, noticed Nigeria lead with 130 arrests, surpassing Rwanda’s 45, South Africa’s 40, and Zambia’s 14 mixed.
In the meantime, the USA Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that over 54,000 People reported being sextortion victims linked to Nigerian perpetrators in 2024 alone, up from 34,000 the earlier yr. Between 2023 and 2025, American youngsters additionally coughed up about $65 million to the worldwide perpetrators in Nigeria.
“The repute of our nation is at an all-time low internationally,” mentioned Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s spokesperson. “In the event you take a look at how different Nigerians are handled at airports, immigration, and customs, individuals are cautious at numerous borders and airports. They topic us to additional scrutiny.”
He additionally revealed that the menace contributed to the nation’s low direct overseas funding influx. He recognized harm to the youth’s future growth capability as a consequence of web fraud in Nigeria. “We’ve lots of convictions. In 2024, the Fee secured 4,111 convictions, the very best up to now,” he mentioned.
Who’s OlaXash?
Initially a intercourse enhancement merchandise vendor, Aphrodisiacs by OlaXash is a small-scale enterprise registered beneath the Company Affairs Fee with quantity 7102881 on 18 August 2023. The model, owned by Ogunsona Olaitan Victoria, who hails from Ondo city, lately celebrated its fourth anniversary in January 2025.
Ms Ogunsona started her entrepreneurial journey in 2021 whereas she was nonetheless an undergraduate at Adekunle Ajasin College, Akungba-Akoko. DUBAWA uncovered this reality after analysing a video she posted on her oldest TikTok account on Sept. 23, 2021.
She made the video on the college’s New Rest Centre (RC). Behind her is the college’s Exams and Data constructing.
To validate our findings about her alma mater, we searched via the outdated account and located a video made inside one of many lecture halls within the college’s 30CQ premises.
Her earliest store was at 2, First Molac, reverse Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo. On the time, she solely centered on promoting aphrodisiacs, and her CAC certificates signifies that she offers in all types of religious merchandise, physique enhancement, intercourse enhancement, and an infection merchandise.
She opened a unisex salon in Akure in December 2024 after becoming a member of the Nationwide Youth Service Corps in Ondo State 4 months earlier. In June 2025, she celebrated her passing-out parade (POP), marking the completion of her necessary one-year nationwide service.
Regardless of a number of makes an attempt throughout our investigation, OlaXash repeatedly gave conflicting excuses to stop DUBAWA from accessing her location. She mentioned she doesn’t do bodily consultations, and her salesgirl’s member of the family died. At one other time, she mentioned she went for fortification at Saki, Oyo state.
We inquired about her location from her dispatch rider, however he offered evasive responses. An additional search via OlaXash’s posts confirmed he has been a trusted hand for her product supply. Utilizing Truecaller, we recognized his identify as Okoli Oyekanmi.
DUBAWA analysed movies on her social media and mixed the findings with proof from different dependable sources. We discovered her aphrodisiac store at 40, Odige Street, Akure.
On 30 April, she posted on her TikTok web page that she was on the verge of opening one other store. Analyses of her Instagram posts revealed that she began actively posting the religious charms in 2023.
Inside the interval, OlaXash lately purchased a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, which she revealed prices N18 million ($11,250). This differed from her second, a Toyota Venza (2008-2015 mannequin), priced between N6.5 million ($4,062.50) and N13 million ($8,125), and her first, a 2010 Toyota Camry, which prices about N5 million ($3,125) to N12.5 million ($7,812.50).
The right way to use Oshole
Following up on her TikTok adverts, DUBAWA went the additional mile to buy the attraction and perceive the method totally. We messaged OlaXash on her WhatsApp quantity to barter the charms’ prices. She revealed that Oshole’s worth varies from N110,000 ($68.75) to N250,000 ($156.25). A number of the Oshole variants we found she sells blue, 7-in-1 white, ebu, yellow, and probably the most outstanding, black. Ghost Shopper Cleaning soap is one other attraction, extra superior than Oshole, and is created explicitly for web fraudsters. This attraction helps them entice and safe wealthier purchasers. It prices between N320,000 ($200) and N400,000 ($250).
Amongst fraudsters, “shopper” is a code phrase devised to keep away from suspicion. It signifies the potential rich sufferer they’re making an attempt to defraud, not an actual buyer or enterprise accomplice.
First-time customers should use the curse-breaker cleaning soap, which prices N13,000. It purges the consumer’s spirit towards any hindrance that may stop the efficacy of the primary charms.
If Oshole or Ghost Shopper Cleaning soap is past a first-time consumer’s price range, they’ll purchase a starter package, which prices between N43,000 ($26.88)and N68,000 ($42.5).
We purchased the curse-breaker cleaning soap and the black Oshole for N160,000 ($100). The Oshole was a medium-sized calabash half-filled with domestically made black cleaning soap. Six small white cowries had been pressed into the calabash contents round a bigger brown cowry.
OlaXash revealed {that a} consumer should begin with the curse-breaker cleaning soap to purge them of any hindrance to the Oshole’s efficacy. Such a consumer should keep away from intercourse for seven days and nights with no break. If the consumer is a lady, she ought to use it after finishing her menstrual interval, as menstruation can tamper with the attraction’s efficacy. The consumer ought to use the attraction at night time and keep away from leaving residence after utilization.
DUBAWA waited seven days earlier than messaging her for directions on utilizing the Oshole attraction. She mentioned it’s advisable to have intercourse earlier than utilization commences, as any sexual exercise throughout utilization is an abomination.
She offered additional directions, together with that the consumer ought to bathe with it for seven days, ideally at 6 a.m. or at night time between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m.
She mentioned, “No matter [the buyer] additionally needs must be claimed whereas bathing with it: ‘Wealth far and past, goodness left and proper, demons carrying fortune ought to deliver it to me, and well-paying purchasers ought to come my method.”
“If [the user] already has shopper(s), they’ll say: ‘Might my shopper all the time heed my needs.’ It should be used day-after-day other than Wednesday,” she mentioned in a WhatsApp voice be aware that DUBAWA obtained.
“Shopper” is a typical time period amongst Nigerian web fraudsters, musicians who glorify them, and others who affiliate with them to explain unsuspecting victims of web fraud, normally foreigners.
“They don’t work”— customers counter
Regardless of these elaborate directions and assurances on her social media web page, not all customers are satisfied. DUBAWA discovered many TikTok customers who challenged her charms’ efficacy in remark sections. In considered one of her pinned TikTok posts, she marketed the Ghost Shopper cleaning soap, which prices N330,000 ($206.25). Solely seven feedback out of 284 indicated curiosity within the attraction, whereas the remaining had been hostile reactions.
DUBAWA messaged some followers who indicated curiosity in verifying the efficacy of her merchandise, however none replied. One TikToker who replied vouched for her companies, although he has not used her merchandise personally. Merchants near her store additionally reacted with hostility once we tried to talk with them.
Nonetheless, we discovered sources who shared their expertise as associates at the hours of darkness world.
Dolapo* dated a fraudster who tried numerous spiritualists whereas at school, however none labored as anticipated. His associates additionally joined him within the futile search that always by no means appeared to finish. “Sooner or later, I began considering that if he had gathered the cash he frequently spent on these charms, it could be extra worthwhile if he had began an enterprise as a substitute of those futile efforts,” she mentioned.
She revealed that a few of his associates fared higher than he did, however their sources may very well be extra questionable. These elements, amongst others, made her worry for her life, which led to the connection’s demise. “I started fearing for my security, as a result of I can’t assure my security with an individual who can go to all these lengths, bathing at midnight and rubbing charms on his physique simply to defraud a white sufferer,” she mentioned.
Jaiyeola*, one other former fraudster, spent greater than N100,000 ($62.5) on three events for 2 spiritualists after delicate peer stress. The attract was plain as he noticed them from the sidelines throughout his undergraduate days in 2012. He mentioned he began “asking for updates” on how his “hustle” may grow to be a hit story, too. “They informed me it was simply to hurry up my money-making prospects, that I’d be capable to do issues with much less effort and get loads of rewards,” he mentioned, whereas his face betrayed the anger he tried to suppress.
The primary attraction he tried value N40,000 ($25), a major sum for a scholar, however one he was prepared to sacrifice. After receiving the gadgets and following the directions exactly, he bathed at night time for 3 days, ready for his fortunes to alter, however nothing occurred.
When he reported his lack of outcomes, his pal urged he wanted a extra spiritually suitable attraction. This time, he wanted a sum of N60,000 ($37.5). Determined, he borrowed the cash from a relative, satisfied by his associates’ assurances that the funding would repay. But once more, after faithfully following the ritual, there have been no outcomes. “Like the primary time, nothing occurred. My associates had been supportive, although. I felt possibly it simply wasn’t meant for me.”
He gave up and avoided patronising them till he graduated. Nonetheless, he was compelled again to the outdated methods after experiencing hardship after college. This time, he discovered a special spiritualist to assist unlock the promised prosperity.
He mentioned, “I went to him and mentioned I wanted assist, so long as it didn’t contain something evil. He really helpful one other preparation, and I used it as instructed, however someplace alongside the road, I misplaced curiosity in continuing. That was the tip of it.”
Since then, he has centered on private enchancment with God’s assist. It has been gradual progress, however he mentioned he’s content material.
Whereas customers like Jaiyeola specific disappointment, religious practitioners supply a special perspective. Oluwo Akintomide, a spiritualist and lawyer, dispelled frequent misconceptions about Oshole as a magical shortcut to wealth for the idle or unemployed. “Oshole works alongside the work of your hand. You can’t be jobless and be doing Oshole. You gained’t see something,” he mentioned.
In a TikTok put up, he likened Oshole to a “sign booster” that expands one’s “circumference of prospects,” however just for these already engaged in productive work. He mentioned, “It can cooperate with the work of your hand. Whether or not you’re a dealer, an entrepreneur, a enterprise particular person, a contractor, or work on-line.”
“You could have one thing you’re doing earlier than you’ve gotten one thing to spice up it. It’s not for individuals who sleep and get up. Oshole will solely aid you enhance the work of your fingers.”
He additionally addressed considerations in regards to the morality and security of such religious practices, stating that innocent charms maintain no repercussions after utilization. “We’ve common rights over crops, animals, roots, and herbs. The one factor we don’t have rights over is the lifetime of one other human being,” he mentioned. “So long as what you’re doing doesn’t contain taking one other human being’s life or destroying one other human being’s life, it’s going to be just right for you properly and there shall be no repercussions.”
He asserted that Oshole is a religious enhancement for these already striving, not a alternative for exhausting work. “If anyone used to make N500,000, you can begin making N5 million with Oshole. That’s the way it works. So you could have one thing to do earlier than you may enhance it with religious fortifications.”
TikTok, residence for Oshole distributors
Amongst Nigerian youths, TikTok is a first-rate house for distributors and entrepreneurs concentrating on a youthful viewers and digital natives. As of early 2025, knowledge from DataReportal revealed that TikTok boasted 37.4 million customers in Nigeria, accounting for 15.8% of the nationwide inhabitants and 35% of the nation’s web consumer base, who’re largely youth.
The info replicate the worldwide development the place 36% of customers worldwide are aged 18–24, 20% are of their teenage years, and one other 25% within the 25–34 bracket. Customers 35 years and above full the numbers. As of 2025, solely Indonesia (+22%) and Brazil (+18%) beat Nigeria’s 17% progress price, making it the African nation with the very best progress price. Egypt, the closest African nation, occupied fifth place with a 14% surge.
Whereas Instagram and YouTube have seen their consumer numbers decline, TikTok continues to develop, thanks partially to its short-form video format and viral content material tradition. Non secular product sellers, together with Oshole distributors, leverage TikTok’s algorithm and large youth viewers for promoting, usually via trending movies, testimonials, and influencer partnerships.
Quite a few accounts now brazenly promote Oshole and comparable charms on TikTok, utilizing hashtags and visually partaking content material to draw the eye of probably the most receptive audiences. Utilizing key phrases on DorkGPT, DUBAWA recognized greater than 22 TikTok accounts promoting Oshole, even to audiences past Nigerian shores.
One such TikTok consumer, Ifa Adeleke, has over 42,500 followers, and his posts have acquired over 201,400 reactions as of Might 18, 2025. One other, recognized as Ifayomi247, has over 51,200 followers and 179,600 reactions.
Promoting the attraction for fraudsters violates TikTok’s neighborhood ideas on regulated items and business actions. The precept states that TikTok doesn’t permit the commerce or advertising and marketing of regulated, prohibited, or high-risk items and companies. Such items take pleasure in unlawful site visitors on unofficial markets (black or gray markets) and are “regulated for a purpose.”
As a management mechanism, the platform deployed numerous efforts towards defaulters, together with automated detection. Between July and September 2024, the platform eliminated over two million movies uploaded by Nigerian customers for violating its neighborhood tips. Additionally, OlaXash disclosed on Feb.27, 2025, that her foremost TikTok web page has been banned completely.
Information from the platform’s 2024 Q3 Neighborhood Pointers Enforcement Report revealed that 99.1% of the removals happen inside 24 hours. The platform additionally eliminated 92.1% of the movies earlier than any neighborhood member reported them.
Nonetheless, distributors exploit some basic weaknesses to ply their commerce. Utilizing slang or disguising dangerous charms, reminiscent of Oshole, as innocent religious companies, they evade the platform’s automated detection. Additionally, they rapidly adapt to takedowns by reposting content material via new accounts or tweaking their language simply sufficient to slide previous the filters.
Furthermore, the platform’s incapability to know native contexts hinders it from mechanically figuring out such harmful posts, regardless of claiming a 98.2% proactive detection price globally.
Distributors promoting dangerous merchandise efficiently exploit the limitation when interesting their account ban.
Exploiting these regulatory gaps poses actual penalties for the platform’s customers. Such charms are actually normalised on TikTok, rising distributors’ gross sales and entry to a bigger viewers thinking about on-line fraud. The merchandise’ widespread presence legitimises them to weak youth and helps speed up demand and use.
These regulatory lapses compromise TikTok’s neighborhood security and broader societal well-being. As such merchandise acquire fame on the platform, impressionable younger Nigerians grow to be extra weak.
These solid a doubt on TikTok’s dedication to curbing unlawful actions on its website. So long as TikTok fails to know and act on native, cultural, and linguistic realities, it’s going to stay a key avenue via which fraud-related charms unfold and thrive in Nigeria.
What does the regulation say?
OlaXash and different sellers’ promotion of Oshole charms to web fraudsters on TikTok raises vital authorized questions beneath Nigerian regulation. Whereas no statute explicitly prohibits promoting religious merchandise, her actions violate a number of regulatory frameworks.
Part 210 of the Nigerian Felony Code criminalises possessing juju or charms supposed for dangerous functions, reminiscent of aiding fraud. Subsection C notably says,
“Any one that makes or sells or makes use of, or assists or takes half in making or promoting or utilizing or has in his possession or represents himself to be in possession of any juju, drug or attraction which is meant for use or reported to own the facility to stop or delay any particular person from doing an act which such particular person has a authorized proper to do, or to compel any particular person to do an act which such particular person has a authorized proper to chorus from doing, or which is alleged or reported to own the facility of inflicting any pure phenomenon or any illness or epidemic; is responsible of misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for 2 years.”
Her actions additionally contravene Part 213(a) of the Felony Code, which says,
“Anybody who makes, sells or retains on the market or for rent or reward, any fetish or attraction which is pretended or reputed to own energy to guard burglars, robbers, thieves or different malefactors, or to help or help in any method within the perpetration of any housebreaking, burglary, theft or theft, or within the perpetration of any offence by any means, or to stop, hinder or delay the detection of or conviction for any offence by any means; is responsible of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for 5 years.”
Based mostly on obtainable proof on her Instagram web page, authorities may argue that advertising and marketing Oshole as a device for enabling cybercrime contravenes the Cybercrimes (Prohibition) Act, which penalises aiding fraud via “any means.”
Although she shouldn’t be a principal offender beneath Sections 22 (identification theft/impersonation) and 14 (computer-related fraud), her companies help web fraudsters’ actions within the nation, thereby violating Part 27(b), which says,
“Any one that aids, abets, conspires, counsels, or procures one other particular person(s) to commit any offence beneath this Act; commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the punishment offered for the principal offence beneath this Act.”
By interpretation, OlaXash conspires, aids, and abets the violation of Sections 22 and 14 of the Cybercrime Act. Beneath the Cybercrime Act, she is liable on conviction to not lower than 14 years imprisonment cumulatively, a nice of not lower than N29 million, or each nice and imprisonment.
![Possible charges against OlaXash. Designed by Phillip Anjorin]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2025/09/Photo-11.-Possible-charges-against-OlaXash.png?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
“Ignorantia juris non excusat,” mentioned Victor Giwa, a authorized practitioner and the nationwide coordinator of Advocates for Folks’s Rights and Justice. The expression is a authorized time period coined from Latin, which suggests ignorance of the regulation shouldn’t be excusable.
He defined that the regulation targets possession, promotion, and sale of such gadgets with the intent to facilitate crime.
He distinguished between the lawful use of charms for private safety and their illegal use to help prison actions. He mentioned, “Carrying a attraction for self-defence towards theft or armed theft doesn’t represent against the law beneath Part 213 of the Felony Code. Nonetheless, when such gadgets are used or offered to allow or conceal prison acts, the regulation unequivocally deems this unlawful.”
Regardless of the regulation’s readability, Mr Giwa expressed concern over the insufficient enforcement of those provisions. He identified that companies just like the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) have the authority to prosecute offences associated to charms however haven’t sufficiently prioritised this space.
He known as on safety companies, together with the police, to ascertain specialised items devoted to investigating the manufacturing and sale of those charms, monitoring their promotion on-line, and figuring out conventional practitioners concerned in these actions.
“Safety companies, notably the police and different related authorities, ought to set up a devoted unit accountable for investigating why individuals are making these charms, monitoring their actions on the web, and figuring out conventional or native docs concerned in such practices,” he mentioned.
Whereas practising conventional drugs shouldn’t be unlawful, practitioners should be held accountable if their actions contribute to crime.
Giwa known as for the right registration of the standard herbalists. He mentioned, “There must be a unit throughout the Nigerian Police Drive accountable for registering anybody who needs to have interaction in conventional drugs. Many of those practitioners have contributed to the rising crime price, particularly amongst younger folks.”
Lastly, he urged authorities to take decisive motion towards the charms’ internet advertising. He really helpful leveraging social media platforms to close down accounts that brazenly promote these merchandise, as such ads gasoline prison behaviour and worsen the issue.
EFCC sounds a warning to spiritualists
Once we offered our findings to Mr Oyewale, the EFCC’s spokesperson, he revealed that the Fee will begin its unbiased investigation. He additional warned spiritualists that the Fee would prosecute culprits who offered such help beneath the Cybercrime Act.
He mentioned, “If it may be established that there’s prison help, our legal guidelines present for punishment for such folks.”
He said that the Fee will equally punish culprits aiding and abetting web fraudsters beneath the related sections of the Nigerian regulation.
READ ALSO: NCAA commences consciousness marketing campaign to curb rising violence towards aviation employees
“The EFCC won’t hesitate to invoke any related part of our regulation to take care of anybody aiding, abetting, or supporting Web fraudsters to ply their commerce. So long as it may be established, they’ll be handled like the key culprits, and society shall be higher for it.”
Ms Longe, citing the Cybercrime Act, urged the EFCC to take authorized motion towards OlaXash and different distributors within the commerce.
“On this situation, the religious supplier is utilizing her companies to spice up younger folks’s confidence to commit fraud,” she mentioned.
“After reviewing the messages and screenshots offered, it’s evident that she is working with impunity, regardless of the provisions of the Cybercrime Act. Regulation enforcement companies ought to take motion primarily based on this proof,” she added.
