In 1957, somewhere between the areas of Ekiti, Ibadan and Oyo, there was said to have been a Yoruba settlement called Araromi-Oke.

Then, according to legend , it disappeared.

Not abandoned over several years. Not destroyed by war. Overnight. Like they woke up the next day and didn't see all the villagers 

When people from neighbouring communities reportedly went looking for the villagers, they found their settlement still there, but the people were gone. Houses remained standing. Belongings were said to have been left behind. There was supposedly no clear sign of where the villagers had gone or what had happened to them.

Soon, explanations began to circulate.

Some versions of the story connected the disappearance to Ogun, the Yoruba deity associated with iron, hunting and warfare.Some said they white came overnight and took arrested everyone and probably used them for slave trade, since it happened before Nigeria gained independence while others simply described it as something no one could explain.

And that is where the story gets even stranger.

There is still no confirmed record showing that an entire village called Araromi-Oke actually disappeared in 1957.

Researchers who have tried to trace the story have struggled to find contemporary newspaper reports, government records, archaeological evidence or reliable local accounts confirming the disappearance. There are also several real Yoruba communities with names beginning with “Araromi,” which may have contributed to the confusion.

So did Araromi-Oke really disappear?

We don't know.

Is it just another African folklore? 

We don't know either

It may have begun with a real settlement that was abandoned or relocated and eventually became an eerie oral legend. It may be a mixture of several different communities and stories.

Or there may simply be a part of the story that history never recorded.

For now, Araromi-Oke remains one of those Nigerian stories where the most disturbing question isn't “Where did the villagers go?”

It's “Did they ever disappear at all? Did Araromi exist? Is it just some African folklore? ”