Media Team
Veteran Nollywood star Iya Ajirotutu has revealed the terrifying ordeal that made her flee her thriving herbal clinic and long-term residence in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The actress, born Esther Adebayo and revered in Yoruba cinema, shared this gripping account in her latest interview with Feel Right TV.
Ajirotutu explained her spiritual roots, having been raised in a traditionalist household in Oyan, Osun State.
Despite later embracing Christianity, she maintained her family’s ancestral herbal healing business, building a prosperous practice across the border.
For eleven successful years, her clinic flourished—until the day two enigmatic women arrived. Their peculiar greeting instantly revealed their occult affiliations, sending chills down her spine.
Though their words seemed harmless, the veiled threat was unmistakable. Terrified, the actress made a life-altering decision to abandon everything and return to Nigeria during her twelfth year abroad.
“I was mid-conversation when two strangers demanded my attention. I asked them to wait, then inquired about their purpose. Their response chilled me—an esoteric phrase used only in secret societies. I prostrated in the traditional greeting. They insisted I join their cult or quit my practice entirely. When I asked if I could treat pregnancy complications, they permitted it—but that conversation ended my time in Cotonou,” she revealed.
“That confrontation forced me to leave after twelve years. Those women appeared during my eleventh year—I couldn’t risk staying longer.”
The celebrated actress also lamented how her professional portrayal of mystics and witches has bled into her real-life reputation.
“I’ve faced physical attacks—people throwing stones, calling me a witch. Even today, that label follows me everywhere,” she confessed.
