Court Strikes Out Rape Case Against Araromi Emmanuel Despite Multiple Evidence by Survivor Fems Thrift

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Summary: A Lagos court on Wednesday, May 14, 2026, struck out the rape and sexual extortion case against Araromi Emmanuel, ruling there was no case to answer despite witness statements, a medical report, a retrieved knife, and digital evidence presented by survivor Fems Thrift.

Fems Thrift, a Lagos-based content creator and thrift vendor who reported being raped and sexually extorted by Araromi Emmanuel in February 2026, has stated that a Lagos court struck out the case on Wednesday, May 14, 2026.

According to her, the court ruled there was no case to answer despite multiple statements, a medical report, a retrieved knife, and digital evidence.

Recall that Naija Feminists Media (NFM) reported in February 2026 that Araromi Emmanuel lured Fems Thrift and her friend to a location in Ajao Estate, Lagos, on February 8, 2026, under the guise of a modelling shoot, where he brandished a knife, tied their hands with socks, and sexually assaulted them multiple times. 

He subsequently forced them to transfer intimate photos and videos from their phones to himself via AirDrop and threatened to publish the materials if they spoke out.

Speaking via a video posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2026, Fems Thrift stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) advised that there was no case, and that Emmanuel was not released on bail but had the case struck out entirely, meaning he walked free without a trial.

“They said the DPP’s advice is what they’ll use to judge the matter. In the DPP’s advice, the DPP says there’s no case. They’ll not give us a chance to even say what happened,” she stated.

Fems stated that the evidence submitted was substantial. “When we got to the police station, I wrote a statement, my friend wrote a statement, and another of my friends wrote a statement. 

The knife that they retrieved in the boys’ house, all the evidence they retrieved in the boys’ house, all the chat from Instagram, my friend’s chat with him, they say there’s no case,” she added that the medical report from Mirabel Centre confirmed physical injuries. “The doctor who attended confirmed that I had a bruise. They said there’s no penetration. Meanwhile, when we went to Mirabel, the doctor confirmed that I had a bruise.”

Reacting to the case being struck out, Fems said,

“There’s no law in Nigeria. If there’s no evidence, I would say okay. The evidence is everywhere. It was plenty. What do you mean by there’s no case?”

The striking out of this case despite physical evidence, multiple witness statements, retrieved weapons, digital records, and a medical report from the Mirabel Centre reflects a documented pattern in how the Nigerian justice system handles rape cases, where perpatrators often go free even in the face of evidences.