The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has issued a public notice following a surge of public discussions and concerns about alleged child sexual abuse and misconduct in Nigerian daycare centers. This notice comes amid renewed scrutiny sparked by the resurfacing of Nigerian singer Simi’s tweets from 2012, which some social media users have misinterpreted as inappropriate.

In its statement, NAPTIP emphasised its commitment to thoroughly investigate every credible report related to child abuse. The agency kindly requests anyone with factual information, evidence, or who has been personally affected by such matters to confidentially reach out via direct message or email at info@naptip.gov.ng. The notice includes contact information for NAPTIP’s headquarters in Abuja and the Lagos Zonal Command for confidential reporting.

The controversy began after some of Simi’s tweets from when she was 23 years old resurfaced. At the time, she was helping at her mother’s daycare while pursuing her music career. The tweets described innocent, affectionate moments with children, which some online users mischaracterised as improper.

Simi publicly addressed the situation on Twitter, clarifying the context and strongly denying any wrongdoing, “I haven’t been on Twitter today but someone brought a few of my old tweets to my attention and I can’t not address it.

14 years ago, I was 23, so I was definitely not a child. I’m not here to make excuses because I don’t have anything to make excuses for. What I can’t let anyone do is twist my story to fit false narratives.

In 2012, I lived and helped out at my mom’s daycare while I was hustling my music. I tweeted everything that happened in my life, as we all did at the time. Kids can be mischievous. If a child did something I found funny, I tweeted about it. Kids are cute and lovable. I want to hug, kiss and cuddle them. I tweet about it. Nothing I tweeted was from perversion.

I was not famous, so maybe if I was, I would have understood that anything is open to whatever interpretation including being used falsely by a faceless mob. I’ve never been depraved in my life.

You can retweet all the tweets in the world about me loudly crushing on people I admired or being a cheeky young woman. I wasn’t trying to hide it because I don’t have anything to hide.

My team has been deleting some of my tweets because of how sensitive it is for my family. To be honest, I did not want to. I have always spoken against rape and sexual assault even before you knew I existed. It’s not a costume I’m wearing it’s who I am. I’ve never claimed to be perfect. I’ve never claimed to know everything. I said stop raping women. I stand by it.”

NAPTIP’s public notice and Simi’s statement together highlight the importance of careful interpretation of social media content and the seriousness with which allegations of child abuse should be treated. The agency urges the public to come forward responsibly and help protect vulnerable children while ensuring a fair and thorough investigation of all credible claims. (Arise News)

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