Olushola Omogbehin
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested Mirabel, the TikToker, for raising false alarm that she was rape as investigations revealed.
Disclosing her arrest on Friday, the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, said the influencer is currently in their custody for questioning so that the authenticity of her initial report could be verified.
It all started on Monday when a young TikToker, Abigail Nsuka, aka Mirabel in a video claimed she had been raped in her apartment on Sunday morning of February 15.
Not long after that, the video went viral across social media platforms with many Nigerians asking for justice for Mirabel. She also made so much money after sharing her account details.
In the video, she said, “I have insomnia. If I’m not drunk or high, I can’t sleep. So, on Saturday, I drank, and it wasn’t working. But I needed to be high enough so I could sleep.
“My eyes were tired, but I couldn’t sleep. I slept around 6am, and around 9am, I heard someone knocking on my door. I thought it was one of my neighbours because it was Sunday morning. Most of them would have gone to church, or maybe one of them wanted to ask for something. I stood up. I had a headache.
“I was still drunk and had a headache. Immediately I opened the door, I was pushed back. Before I got to my door, there was my fridge, and a few steps forward was the door. I hit my head on the fridge when I was pushed back, and I passed out. When I opened my eyes, there was a man over me.
“There was a cloth tucked in my mouth, and I was tied. I was just there mumbling, hoping somebody could hear me. It was Sunday, and most people would have gone to church; even the neighbour close to me had gone to church. Those were the only people who might faintly hear me mumbling.
“Later on, I was bleeding. I didn’t know why I was bleeding. I thought I got my period. The person texted me. It turns out this person inserted a face blade into my body and cut me so I could bleed,” she added.
Many social media influencers such as Martins Otse, aka Very Dark Man and others were said to have donated money ranging from N1m to N5m.
Surprisingly, Mirabel recorded another audio conversation with VDM, where she admitted that she made up the rape allegation.
“I used to masturbate, and I’m a lesbian. I often self-harm when I have panic attacks. It might be a hallucination,” she said in the audio clip.
According to her, she created a separate TikTok account where she send herself messages to make it appear as though a rapist had contacted her.
Mirabel’s confession surprised her supporters who had donated money including the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency and the Ogun State Government that had indicated interest in ensuring justice was served.
As many who had earlier donated money asked for a refund, others such as the Founder and Executive Director of Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, have demanded that she should be prosecuted for making light of a serious offence.
As Nigerians await the outcome of her arrest, many have suggested that she may face trial for the criminal offence of giving false information, which attracts a three-year jail term under Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.
