NAPTIP Orders Full Investigation into Alleged Child Abuse at Lagos Daycare Facility

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Binta Adamu Bello, has ordered a comprehensive investigation into allegations of child molestation and abuse at an unidentified daycare centre in Lagos.

The directive follows renewed social media controversy involving resurfaced posts allegedly linked to popular Nigerian singer Simisola Kosoko, known professionally as Simi.

In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, the agency confirmed that the Director-General had directed operatives to commence an immediate inquiry based on “suggestive online posts” indicating potential child abuse within a daycare setting.

The statement read: “Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello, OON, has directed Operatives of the Agency to commence a full-scale investigation into the alleged Child Molestation and Abuse in a Day-care setting in Lagos, as deduced from the suggestive online post by a popular Nigeria Singer.

“While appreciating the genuine concern of Nigerians on the matter, the Agency wishes to inform the general public that all its communication platforms are active and available to take complaints from anyone who may have been abused or violated on the said Day-care.”

The agency emphasised that child protection remains its top priority and urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward through official channels.

NAPTIP’s investigation follows a similar move by the Lagos State Government. Harmattan News reported on Thursday that the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, disclosed during a Channels Television interview that the matter had been referred to the Commissioner of Police for preliminary investigation, as the agency could not ignore the allegations.

The investigations stem from social media activity triggered when screenshots of tweets from 2012 and 2013, purportedly authored by Simi, began circulating online.

The controversy reportedly gained traction after Simi posted comments advocating for the castration of rapists and stating that “almost every woman she knows has been sexually assaulted.”

In response, critics unearthed the decade-old tweets, which some interpreted as suggesting inappropriate conduct or abuse in a daycare environment.

Simi has since addressed the uproar, maintaining that the old comments were misinterpreted and unrelated to any improper conduct.