The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has pledged to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse linked to Nigerian sensation singer, Simisola Kosoko, known mononymously as Simi.
New Telegraph reports that the development followed a social media controversy, leading to her old tweets, which resurfaced on the microblogging site, X.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that netizens brought up tweets from 2012 where Simi made comments about toddlers at her mother’s daycare centre.
The controversy intensified after Simi spoke out about sexual assault concerns in Nigeria in the wake of a now-retracted rape allegation by a TikToker, prompting critics to revisit her past statements.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday, the NAPTIP revealed that it is taking the matter seriously, appealing to members of the public to provide evidence where available.
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“Following recent public discussions and concerns raised regarding alleged incidents of child sexual abuse/misconduct in daycare settings in Nigeria, we are committed to thoroughly investigating credible reports.”
“We kindly request anyone with factual information, evidence, direct knowledge, or who was personally affected by the matters referenced in the viral posts or related experiences to kindly reach out to us confidentially.
“We take all reports of child sexual abuse/misconduct seriously and are committed to investigating every credible claim,” the agency said.
Responding to the backlash earlier, Simi said she made the posts at age 23 while assisting at her mother’s daycare and insisted they had been misinterpreted. “I’ve never been depraved in my life,” she said.
“You can retweet all the tweets in the world about me loudly crushing on people I admire/d and or being a cheeky young woman. I wasn’t trying to hide it, because I don’t have anything to hide.”
The singer also disclosed that her team had begun deleting some of the old posts out of consideration for her family, even though she was initially reluctant to remove them.
As of press time, no formal charges have been announced, but NAPTIP says it will proceed with a full review of any credible evidence submitted.
