The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency. Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, has stated that prosecuting singer Simi over her resurfaced tweets will be challenging without a survivor coming forward.
Simi has been trending recently after Nigerians unearthed some of her old tweets, which many found troubling. In one of the tweets, written when she was 23 and working at her mother’s daycare. Simi mentioned a four-year-old coming close to her and jokingly wondered if she should “give him a chance.”
After facing backlash, Simi released a statement explaining that the tweets were from 14 years ago. During a time when she was helping at her mother’s daycare while pursuing her music career. She clarified that her posts were lighthearted and reflected her daily life, including funny or cute moments with children. Simi emphasized that her tweets were never intended to be inappropriate and firmly rejected any attempts to twist her words into false narratives. She also reiterated her strong stance against rape and sexual misconduct.
NAPTIP To Launch an Investigation
On Tuesday, February 24, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). Announced an investigation into alleged cases of sexual abuse in daycare centers across Nigeria. This came after an X (formerly Twitter) user claimed he attended Simi’s mother’s daycare. And accused the singer of inappropriate behavior toward him and other children.
Speaking on Channels TV, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi addressed the situation. Stating that without a survivor stepping forward, it would be difficult to prosecute Simi.
In her words:
“We cannot ignore this case, so we have a duty to at least begin a preliminary investigation. But the truth is, it will be very difficult to prosecute her without a survivor coming forward. Is there a victim of sexual abuse, rape, or assault? We encourage anyone who was allegedly assaulted by Simi to please come forward.”
Watch the video of her statement below.
