LAGOS, Nigeria — The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has formally referred the resurfaced social media posts linked to Nigerian singer Simi to the Commissioner of Police for a preliminary investigation.
The move follows a wave of online criticism after screenshots of tweets from 2012 and 2013 began circulating. Some of these messages appeared to reference children at a daycare facility reportedly run by Simi’s mother, including statements such as “love to kiss d kids at my mum’s daycare – they’re super adorable and I’m crazy abt ’em” and “Why this 4yr old boy tryna put hand inside ma shet????? Ogbeni wash it oh!”
The controversy was sparked when Simi posted on social media about rape, urging men to stop raping women, suggesting that rapists should be castrated, and stating that “almost every woman she knows has been sexually assaulted.” Her statements generated widespread discussion online, after which the older tweets resurfaced, prompting intense scrutiny.
In response, Simi explained that the tweets reflected her youth and experiences assisting at her mother’s daycare. She maintained that the posts were not written “from perversion” and stated critics had taken them out of context.
Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Executive Secretary Lola Vivour-Adeniyi said the agency had been monitoring developments surrounding what some social media users have called “Simi Gates and Simi Darlington.” She noted that certain tweets were reportedly from 2012 and 2014, and there were discussions about whether some posts may have been altered.
“We’ve been observing and because we had seen some tweets as far back as 2012, some 2014, and then there were talks around certain tweets being doctored and all of that,” Vivour-Adeniyi said. She added that the matter was referred to the Commissioner of Police for further scrutiny.
She also stated that the Lagos State safeguarding taskforce, which oversees child protection and safeguarding enforcement across the state in southwestern Nigeria, has been briefed and that preliminary investigations are ongoing.
Vivour-Adeniyi emphasized that the agency’s duty is to start preliminary inquiries, noting that any legal action would require a complainant to come forward.
“For the Simi case, we cannot act like we have not seen this. And so we have a duty to at least commence preliminary investigation. Is there any survivor? Because the truth of the matter, it’s going to be very difficult to prosecute the lady without a survivor being present,” she said.
She added, “A victim of whatever it is — is it sexual abuse, is it defilement, is it sexual assault by penetration and what have you — so it’s to start the process, encourage anybody who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Simi to please come forward and ensure that their statement is taken and then we know where we’re going to on the matter.”
Authorities have indicated that the investigation remains at an early stage, and no charges have been filed. The case highlights the scrutiny Nigerian public figures face when past online activity resurfaces, particularly in matters that raise child protection concerns.