My aunt's jollof rice recipe had one ingredient nobody expected

My aunt Folake has been making jollof rice for parties in Akure for as long as I can remember. Every December, the whole street knows her pot is on the fire. People come with their own plates. I'm not joking.

Last Christmas, she finally let me watch her cook. I was taking notes like it was a lecture. She put in the usual: tomatoes, pepper, onions, bay leaf, curry, thyme. Then she brought out something wrapped in a nylon bag and I nearly fell off my chair. It was locust beans (iru). I said Aunty, iru in jollof?? She just laughed and said "that is the secret. Without it, the rice is just colored rice."

I tried it at home last week. My flatmate took one spoon and started asking me who taught me to cook. I told him the truth and he said he doesn't believe me. Now he's threatening to call my aunt and ask her himself. But is iru in jollof rice actually a crime, or have I been eating inferior jollof all my life?