Wetin pipo see na Baltasar Engonga sex videos but wetin dey happun for Equatorial Guinea pass like dat

Wetin di rest of di world see as a sex tape scandal fit in fact be di latest episode for di real-life drama over who go become Equatorial Guinea next president.

Inside di past two weeks, dem leak plenty videos - wey from 150, fit reach more dan 400 - of one senior civil servant, wia im dey do kerewa for im office and oda places wit different women.

Di videos full social media, e shock plus totori pipo sexual interest not just for di small central African kontri but oda kontris too.

Many of di women wey dem feem for di video na di wives and relatives of pipo wey hold power for di kontri.

E be like say some of di women bin sabi say dem bin dey feem dem as dem dey do di kerewa (sex) wit Baltasar Ebang Engonga, wey also dey popular as “Bello” sake of im fine.

All dis dey hard to verify as Equatorial Guinea na highly restricted society wia freedom of media no dey exist at all.

But one theory be say, di leak na one way to discredit di man wey dey di centre of di kasala.

Oga Engonga na nephew of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and one of di pipo wey fit to replace am.

Obiang na di longest-serving president for di world, im don dey for power since 1979.

Di 82-year-old bin don oversee di kontri economic boom wey don scata yakata npw, sake of dia oil reserves don go down.

One small, extremely rich elite dey Equitorial Guinea, but many of di 1.7 million pipo for di kontri dey live in poverty.

Obiang goment don face heavy accuse for dia human rights record, including secret killings and torture, according to one US goment report.

Dem bin don also get dia own share of scandals - including di revelations about di lavish lifestyle of one of di president sons, wey be vice-president now.

Im bin get $275,000 (£210,000) crystal-encrusted glove wey Michael Jackson bin wear.

Even wit regular elections, Equatorial Guinea no get any real opposition as activists dey land for prison, some go exile and dem dey strongly monitor di ones wey get desire to enta office closely.

Politics for di kontri na really about palace interest and dis na wia di scandal wey involve Engonga fit in.

Im be di former head of di National Financial Investigation Agency, and im bin work on tackling crimes like money laundering.

But e kon happun say im too bin dey under investigation.

Engonga chop arrest am on 25 October sake of accuse say im tiff big amount of money from di state treasury and hide am for secret accounts for di Cayman Islands. Im neva tok anytin about dis accusation.

Now, im dey di infamous Black Beach prison for di capital, Malabo, wia dem allege say opponents of goment dey collect brutal treatment.

Dem first seize im phones and computers, den few days later di intimate videos begin show online.

Di first reference wey BBC find na from 28 October and na for Facebook ontop di page of Diario Rombe, one news site wey one journalist wey dey exile for Spain dey run, and e tok say “social networks bin explode wit di leaking of explicit images and videos”.

One post on X di next day bin refer to a “monumental scandal wey dey shake di regime” as “pornographic videos flood social media”.

But dem believe say di videos originally appear one-by-one a few days earlier on Telegram, for one of di platform channels wey dem sabi for publishing pornographic images.

Pipo download dem for dia phones kon begin share am among WhatsApp groups for Equatorial Guinea, dis cause beta kasala.

Dem quickly identify Engonga plus some of di women for di videos, including relatives of di president and wives to ministers and senior military officials.

Di goment bin no fit ignore wetin dey happun, on 30 October Vice-President Teodoro Obiang Mangue (di pesin wey bin get di Michael Jackson glove) give telecoms companies 24 hours to come up wit ways to stop di spread of di clips.

“We no go fit kontinu to watch families fall apart without taking any action,” im write on X.

“In di meantime, dem dey investigate di origin of dis publications to find di pipo or groups of pipo wey get hand inside to make dem answer for dia actions.”

As par say di computer equipment bin dey for di hands of di security forces, suspicion don fall on some pipo for dia, wey, fit, dey find way to spoil Engonga reputation ahead of one trial.

Di police don call on women to come forward to open case against Engonga for sharing intimate images wit out dis permission.

One don already announce say she go carry am go court.

Wetin no dey clear na why Oga Engonga feem di moments wey dem dey do kerewa (sex).

But activists don put forward wetin fit be dia oda motives behind di explosive leak.

Even though im dey related to di president, Mr Engonga na di son of Baltasar Engonga Edjo'o, di head of di regional economic and monetary union, Cemac, and im dey veri influential for di kontri.

“Wetin we dey see na di end of an era, di end of di current president, and question dey ground about who go takeova (succession) and dis na di internal gbas gbos we dey see,” na wetin one Equatoguinean activist Nsang Christia Esimi Cruz, we dey live for London now tok

Wen im dey tok to di BBC Focus on Africa podcast, im allege say Vice-President Obiang dey try to politically eliminate “anybodi wey fit challenge his succession”.

Dem dey suspect say di vice-president and im mother, dey try to push aside anybodi wey dey threaten im way to di presidency, including Gabriel Obiang Lima (anoda son of President Obiang from different wife), wey bin be oil minister for 10 years bifor dem move am go one small goment position.

Di believe be say di pipo wey be elite sabi some kain tins about each oda wey dem no go fit carry enta public and dem bin don use videos in di past to humiliate and discredit political opponent.

Plenti frequent accusations of coup plotting dey, wey follow dey make pipo anxious.

But Cruz also allege say di authorities wan use di scandal as an excuse to crack down on social media, wey be how plenty of of information about wetin dey really happun for di kontri dey take reach di public.

For July, di authorities bin temporarily suspend di internet afta protests bin happun for one island of Annobón.

For im, di fact say one high-ranking official dey get sex outside of marriage no surprise am as na part of di spoilt lifestyle of di rich pipo for di kontri.

Di vice-president, wey bin don also dey convicted of corruption for France, wey also bin get im lavish assets wey dem seize for different kontris, want make dem see am as di man wey dey fight corruption and wrong-doing for house.

Last year, for example, im bin give order make dem arrest im half-broda sake of allegations say im bin sell plane wey di state airline get.

But for dis case, despite di vice-president efforts to stop di spread of di clips, dem kontinu to dey watch am.

Dis week, im bin try to appear like pesin wey don take serious decision afta im call for di installation of CCTV cameras in goment offices “to fight indecent and illicit acts”, na wetin di official news agency bin report.

Im tok say di scandal bin don “spoil di image of di kontri” im order say dem go suspend any officials wey dem find wey dey engage in sex acts for work sake of say na "flagrant violation of di code of conduct”.

Im no dey wrong say di story bin don attract a lot of outside interest.

Judging by di data wey Google get, search enquiries wey include di kontri name bin shoot up since di beginning of dis week.

On Monday, on X, “Equatorial Guinea” na one of di top trending terms for Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa - sometimes e surpass interest for di US election.

Dis don leave some activists wey bin don dey try to tell di world about wetin dey really happun for di kontri frustrated.

“Equatorial Guinea get much bigger problems dan dis sex scandal,” Mr Cruz, who dey work for one rights organisation called GE Nuestra tok.

“Dis sex scandal for us na just a symptom of di sicknes, no be di sickness itself. E just show how corrupt di system be.”

Additional reporting by BBC Verify's Peter Mwai.