Lady retracts rape allegation against Nigerian footballer

• Chioma Oniniwu has retracted her rape allegation against Nigerian footballer Victor Ebele Junior and apologised to him and his family.

• Oniniwu said she was pregnant, overwhelmed by fear and under intense emotional stress when she accused Victor Ebele of rape in 2025.

• The lady previously accused Victor Ebele of rape on X and alleged that he had impregnated her, but has now admitted that he is not a rapist.

Oniniwu made the retraction in an open letter shared on her social media page, where she admitted that her accusation was wrong and explained the circumstances that led to it.

The accusation dates back to 2025, when Oniniwu took to X to publicly accuse Ebele of rape.

However, in her latest statement, Oniniwu has now withdrawn the rape allegation and admitted that she wrongly implicated Ebele’s brother and the entire family in the matter.

“Sometime last year, I made a post online on my X platform accusing Victor Ebele Junior of raping me, and along the lines, I implicated his brother and family in the whole mix on something they knew nothing about.

“Victor did not rape me; he is not a rapist rather is his brother involve in what happened between the two of us. I took the law into my hands. Kindly take the post down so it does not further affect him.”

Oniniw said she was going through an extremely difficult period when she made the accusation and was overwhelmed by fear after discovering she was pregnant.

“I am writing this letter with a sincere and deeply remorseful heart to apologise for the accusations I made against Victor Ebele in 2025.

“I acknowledge that my actions and statements caused pain, distress, embarrassment, and damage to Victor's reputation and to the peace of the entire Ebele family. For this, I am truly sorry.”

She said she feared being left to face the pregnancy and its consequences alone and admitted that her emotional state affected her decisions.

“At the time, I was going through an extremely difficult and frightening period in my life. I was pregnant, overwhelmed by fear, and deeply afraid that I would be left to face the pregnancy and everything that came with it.”

Oniniw also apologised to the Nigerian Police Force for involving the authorities in the matter.

“I would also like to sincerely apologise to the Nigerian Police Force for the disrespect, disruption, and unnecessary burden that my actions may have caused.”

She further apologised to Victor, his brother Frank and the entire Ebele family for the consequences of her accusation.

“To Victor, I am truly sorry for the pain and damage my accusations caused you. To Frank, I am sorry for the distress this situation brought upon you. To the entire Ebele family, I sincerely apologize for the embarrassment, hurt, conflict, and disruption that my actions brought to your family.”

Oniniwu said she takes responsibility for her actions and regrets the way she handled the situation.

“I take responsibility for my actions and deeply regret the way I handled what was a very difficult period in my life. I cannot change what happened, but I can acknowledge the wrong | did, express genuine remorse, and make every effort going forward to conduct myself with greater honesty, responsibility, and respect for everyone involved.”

She ended the letter by asking the Ebele family to accept her apology.

In 2025, Oniniwu claimed she had visited a police station at 3rd Avenue, Gwarinpa, Abuja, to report the alleged incident but said she was not properly heard by the Divisional Police Officer.

She also directly accused Ebele of rape and alleged that his parents were protecting him. In another post, Oniniwu alleged that Ebele had raped and impregnated her.