Nigerian police in Ogun State have moved to correct a secondary wave of misinformation surrounding a sexual assault allegation that went viral on social media last week, categorically denying claims that the complainant, a young woman known on TikTok as Mirabel, had been arrested after reporting the incident to officers.
The denial, issued Thursday through Ogun State Police spokesperson DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, came four days after a video posted by Mirabel, whose TikTok handle is @mirab351, spread rapidly across Nigerian social media platforms. In the clip, she alleged that an unknown man had broken into her apartment in Ogijo, a town in Ogun State’s Sagamu Local Government Area, while she was unconscious, physically attacked her, and raped her. She also described receiving threatening messages from the alleged attacker in the aftermath of the assault and said the trauma had driven her to attempt suicide. The video, emotionally raw and detailed, gathered hundreds of thousands of views within hours of posting under the hashtag #StopRapingWomen.
The Ogun State Police Commissioner directed the Divisional Police Officer at Ibafo Division to establish contact with the survivor immediately after the case was formally brought to the command’s attention.
She subsequently presented herself voluntarily at Ibafo Police Division on Wednesday, February 18, to file a formal complaint. Officers conducted a preliminary evaluation before transferring her to Ogijo Division, the jurisdiction in which the alleged incident took place.
“At no time was the victim arrested,” Babaseyi said in the statement. He added that on arrival at Ogijo, officers determined that Mirabel was not in a stable enough condition to provide a full account of events, and she was taken immediately for a comprehensive medical examination. “Her health is being closely monitored, as her wellbeing remains paramount,” the statement read. The investigation, Babaseyi confirmed, is ongoing.
The clarification was prompted not by the original allegations but by a separate, secondary cycle of social media posts claiming that Mirabel had fabricated the entire incident and been detained for it. Those claims circulated widely on X and other platforms, with some users pointing to alleged inconsistencies in her account as evidence that the assault had not occurred. The Ogun police did not address those assertions directly but said the public should “verify information through official channels before dissemination,” a pointed rebuke of the unverified counter-narrative that had been spreading in parallel with official proceedings. The original case had itself been complicated by a jurisdictional confusion that briefly sent it to the wrong state authority. Early accounts placed the incident in Lagos, prompting the Lagos State Police Command and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency to respond publicly. A jurisdictional review subsequently confirmed that Ogijo falls within Ogun State, and the Lagos command formally transferred the matter. Lagos Police spokesperson SP Abimbola Adebisi said: “The location falls within Ogun State; therefore, the Ogun State Command will take over the matter accordingly.”
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The Lagos DSVA, in a statement issued Wednesday before the Ogun police update, said it had established contact with a close associate of the survivor, who confirmed she had been discharged from hospital. The agency expressed confidence in the Ogun command’s handling of the case, saying it trusted the survivor would “fully cooperate with the appropriate authorities to enable a thorough investigation and due process.”
The case has landed in the middle of a broader public conversation about sexual violence, online credibility, and the speed at which unverified information travels on social media in Nigeria. The initial video drew an outpouring of support, with civil society groups, public figures, and ordinary users amplifying calls for the attacker’s arrest. When counter-claims alleging fabrication began to circulate, the response split sharply, with some users expressing betrayal and others warning that premature scepticism of complainants risks silencing genuine survivors.
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That tension is not incidental. Nigeria has no comprehensive national registry of sexual violence statistics, but data from NGOs and state agencies points consistently to significant under-reporting. The DSVA in Lagos, one of the more active state-level agencies, has noted publicly that many survivors decline to report assaults to police out of fear of disbelief, secondary trauma, or social stigma. Cases that attract social media attention before formal reporting has occurred are particularly susceptible to public opinion swings that can complicate both the survivor’s experience and the integrity of any subsequent investigation.
As of Thursday morning, the Ogun State Police confirmed the investigation remains active and ongoing. No suspect has been identified or arrested in connection with the alleged assault. No formal charges have been filed against anyone. The police did not provide a timeline for further updates and did not confirm whether forensic evidence had been collected from the scene.
