BBNaija winner Phyna has apologised for blaming Yoruba people for the theft of a part of her car, which she claimed happened while she was in traffic.

According to Phyna, as narrated in a video she shared on social media, a group of boys surrounded her car, begging for money. When she refused to give them anything, one of them removed something from her car.

In the video, which she has now deleted, Phyna identified the boys to be of the Yoruba ethnicity, saying, "Lagos State, this is getting out of hand, for real. You drive, the moment you stop in traffic, some beggar boys, Yoruba boys to be precise, they will all surround you, begging you for money. If you don't give them money, they scratch things on your car or they do rubbish.

"Yesterday, there was a boy that was going round my car, like, a lot of them. And I noticed he removed something from here (points to car windscreen), because immediately he removed it, I heard it and he ran. I just couldn't see what he removed, only for me to get home now and I'm seeing that this is what he removed from my car.

"I don't understand. We go dey run from police, dey run from Agbero, dey run from Yoruba boys wey dey beg for road? Are we going to be running from everybody right now? So, somebody cannot stop in traffic light again because some Yoruba boys will come and round his or her car.

"I don't understand, Lagos State. Wetin dey sup? Na only Yoruba people dey Lagos State?"

According to netizens, her words were perceived as condescending toward the Yoruba people, especially since she had no proof. They also rebuked her for blaming the action of an individual on an entire ethnicity.

One social media user recalled that the same Phyna never blamed billionaire Aliko Dangote's tribe when one of his trucks crushed his sister, rendering her an amputee a few days ago.

@josh_olonade said, "Your sister was crushed by a Dangote trailer in an accident, you forgot the tribe of the man responsible for it. A part of your car got damaged and suddenly you remember the tribe of the people that did it 'TO BE PRECISE'."

@papichulo4224 said, "If it was pre-2023 election, Phyna Ijeoma would have gotten away with the nonsense she said. You must know your place anywhere in Yoruba land or you get out!"

@ThompsonBlogs7 said, "Why are you shouting “Yoruba Yoruba” you are a fool."

@ABDUL_3004 said, "How did she know it was Yoruba boy, so na only Yorubas Dey Lagos now."

@isntayo said, "The way she kept on emphasising 'Yoruba' you can tell that it's coming from a place of hate. All of a sudden, it's only Yoruba people who reside in Lagos. We all know what we're doing."

@Enrichedvibez said, "Are you really trying to call the government's attention to do something about the beggars that spoiled your car, or you have a problem with Yoruba people?"

After receiving backlash from netizens, Phyna issued an apology, blaming her outburst on anger, saying she never intended to blame Yoruba people.

She shared on X, "I must say I let my anger get the best of me with the tweets I made earlier. It’s just a whole lot going on plus having to fix the scratches and replacing what was taken from the windshield of my car.

"It wasn’t my intention to malign the Yoruba tribe or cause division, the damage could’ve been done by anybody from any tribe. I’m not a bigot, I love all tribes, I love my Yoruba brothers & sisters and it’s evident in my creative works with how much I’ve worked with them.

"My anger does not in any way justify the tweets I made, I’m human, I’m not perfect and I’m using this medium to apologize — Emabinu, E f’orijimi."

ASA