Veteran Yoruba actress Abimbola Adegboye, popularly known as Atoasekun, who was brought into the theatre industry by her late husband, Alhaji Ganiyu Adebisi Adegboye, has revealed the persistent sexual advances from me for the past 20 years after she lost her husband, saying that the advances came from men within and outside the theatre industry.
Stressing that she always rejects such an offer, Atoasekun said, “In theatre, virtually all my colleagues have made advances to me, but I refuse. Immorality is not part of me. After the death of my husband 20 years ago, I had never had any affairs with any man. I don’t like it. In the theatre industry, it is what you want to do that you will do. Ladies come into the theatre for different reasons. Some ladies join the industry for immorality, some just come as spectators, and some come to practice the profession the way it should be practiced. What influences what you do in the industry is the reason why you join the industry.”
She cited an instance where a man made a love advance to her in the presence of her two children, saying, “I was going out one day with my two children. i was in the middle of the two. As we were going, a man called us, and my children looked back, and the man said that he was not calling any of them but me. My children abused the man, asking him to leave their mother alone.”
Adegboye is widely known for her frequent portrayal of witch roles in Yoruba films, a niche she said has been both defining and deeply challenging, saying, “I specialise in acting as a witch, and it is not easy. People take it as real life, not acting.”
She recalled how audiences sometimes mistook her screen role for reality, recalling a day she was embarrassed by her friend’s elder sister. She recalled how audiences sometimes mistook her screen roles for reality.
“One day, I followed my friend to her sister’s house. Immediately, my elder sister saw me downstairs, she shouted to her younger sister, who is my friend that she should not allow me to follow her upstairs. She called me a witch. I told her that I wasn’t a witch, but she did not accept,” she narrated.
Adegboye also narrated a troubling incident during a film shooting, where she claimed she was spiritually attacked on set while playing the role of the head of witches.
She said the incident occurred in a shrine location, where she fell while attempting to sit, forcing the production to halt for a month.
She recounted, “I spent a month in the hospital. Before I returned to set, I had prayed very well,” describing the experience as one of the most frightening moments of her career.
Adegboye further noted that portraying witchcraft roles often came with what she described as “spiritual battles,” adding that actors were sometimes compelled to seek spiritual protection before and during productions.
Despite these experiences, she insisted that acting remains just a profession and not a reflection of personal belief.
She claimed to be a Muslim but strongly believes in traditional religion, saying that traditional religion is superior to other religions.
She claimed, “Muslim faithful are versed in traditional religion and practice it. They do eat concoction. They do say that what you think is good for you, eat it. They will say that God created the herbs, the leaves, the tree, and the roots. I have a book of incantation home. I was born into an Oro family and still go home yearly for traditional rites.”
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