Nollywood Yoruba Witches
For many Nigerians who grew up on late-night Yoruba movies or borrowed VCDs from local vendors, the memory of these terrifying actresses still lingers. Long before CGI and elaborate horror effects, these women made spiritual warfare look terrifyingly real, with nothing but fierce expressions, spine-chilling dialogue, and raw performance power. Hence, this article shall revisit the six most iconic Yoruba actresses who redefined the image of witches on Nigerian screens, some so convincing that fans questioned whether they were simply acting.
1. Iya Gbonkan – The Face of Fear Itself
No other actress symbolizes the Yoruba horror genre quite like Iya Gbonkan. Born Margaret Bandele Olayinka, her mere appearance on screen was enough to trigger goosebumps. With a face carved by legend and eyes that could freeze blood, she is the undisputed queen of on-screen witchcraft. Her breakout role in Koto Orun, a 1989 occult thriller by the iconic Yekini Ajileye made her a cultural phenomenon. But the role came with consequences. In a now-viral interview, she confessed to being attacked in her dreams by real-life witches offended by her accurate portrayals of their rituals. Iya Gbonkan is not just feared she’s revered. Long before Nollywood’s glitzy horror attempts, she terrified audiences with minimal makeup and pure acting intensity. Her presence alone, even in non-witch roles, could silence a crowd. With decades in both stage and screen, she didn’t just act as evil she embodied it with every glance and whispered incantation.
2. Abeni Agbon – The Herbal Witch with Hidden Agendas
I doubt if anybody could guess that Abeni Agbon’s real name is Toyin Oladiran. She represents a subtler brand of evil. Unlike Iya Gbonkan’s thunderous power, Abeni Agbon’s characters were the quiet manipulators, the neighbor with a shrine behind her kitchen, the herbalist who sweet-talks you into drinking poisoned concoctions. She was a core part of the spiritual horror renaissance led by Ajileye, especially in Koto Aiye. Her screen name, which translates to “a child born into the palm of herbs,” quickly became synonymous with the Yoruba archetype of the deceptive herbalist. What made her especially chilling was the duality she represented, the fine line between healing and harming, tradition and malevolence. Abeni Agbon made viewers question every “Iya Alagbo” they met in real life.
3. Iya Ajirotutu – The Matron of Malevolence
Iya Gbonkan was the face of fear, Esther Oluwaranti Moradeke (Iya Ajirotutu) was its voice. With a booming command of Yoruba language, laced with biblical-style curses and traditional chants, she portrayed high-ranking witches who ruled covens with ruthless wisdom. Starting from stage performances at age 12, she carved a name as the matriarch of all things dark and spiritual in Yoruba cinema. Her characters weren’t just evil, they were respected, feared, and often politically powerful. She played the type of witch who wouldn’t kill you outright, she’d curse your lineage for seven generations. In every film, she left a lingering presence even after the credits rolled. Watching her felt like entering a shrine, with no promise of coming out spiritually intact.
4. Tamotiye – The Deceptive Seer
Alirat Atowule better known as Tamo Tiye is another dimension. Tamotiye’s magic was in her deceptively friendly appearance. Before her acting fame, she was a local tailor a background that might have informed her colorful, dramatic costuming in movies. But underneath the flamboyant wrappers and kind smiles was always something sinister. In Koto Aiye, she perfected the role of the two-faced auntie: warm in public, wicked in private. She often portrayed those characters who were spiritually dangerous but socially harmless the so-called prayer warriors who were, in fact, destroyers. Unlike the head witches, Tamotiye represented everyday evil: the person you’d hug in church who was also responsible for your life falling apart. She made us fear the familiar.
5. Iya Niwe – The Cryptic Comic Witch
Iya Niwe with real name Abigail Oladeji blurred the line between horror and humor in a way that made her even more terrifying. She often played supporting witches not the queen, but the one whispering dark ideas into the queen’s ears. Her charcoal-painted face and eerie laughter brought a different kind of fear: the fear that something terrible was about to happen, even while you were laughing. Appearing in films like Agogo Idanile and Osumare, she often embodied witches who were underestimated by the villagers until it was too late. Iya Niwe proved that madness and magic sometimes wear the same face and that the ones who joke the most can also destroy the most.
6. Peju Ogunmola – The Beautiful But Dangerous Priestess
Peju Ogunmola brought elegance into evil. Daughter of theatre icon Kola Ogunmola and wife to comic legend Sunday Omobolanle (a.k.a. Papi Luwe), she possessed natural stage power that transitioned flawlessly into film. Unlike others who played rugged or creepy witches, Peju portrayed regal, intelligent cult leaders the kind who would kill you with a smile and justify it with philosophy. She often acted as powerful queens or priestesses, adding political intrigue to her spiritual dominance. Her portrayal of witches challenged the stereotype: she wasn’t old or ugly, she was beautiful and strategic and somehow, that made her even more terrifying. You never saw her wrath coming.
Finally, before Nollywood’s horror genre became a playground for cheap jump scares and CGI skeletons, these women gave us real, spine-chilling fear rooted in African storytelling, folklore, and deeply held beliefs. They weren’t just movie villains, they were spiritual reflections of the tensions between good and evil in Yoruba cosmology. With just their voices, facial expressions, and fearful charisma, they convinced us that some roles weren’t just acted they were channeled. In truth, these women didn’t just scare us. They warned us. And in doing so, they earned their place in Nigeria’s pop culture hall of fame, as legends of terror.
Add Comment