The Enugu State Police Command has dragged 29-year-old mother of two Chisom Okonkwo days after falsely accusing her husband, Okonkwo Ozioma of having canal knowledge of their two daughters.
Ozioma went viral on social media on November 5, 2025, handcuffed and told that he defied his children and threatened to kill his wife if she leaks the secret, the claim he denied and shouted: “Jehovah, this is not true, this is not me, there is a mistake somewhere. A woman was heard saying, ‘Oga, put it in writing, while a man said repeatedly, ‘My friend write it, you are saying rubbish, you dey call God, God of which?. He demanded to have a lawyer before any statement would be written.
The female assumed to be a police officer called a number and said: “Oga, he doesn’t want to write and he said he needs a lawyer and he said I should not write for him.”
In the charge, it reads, “That you Chisom Okonkwo sometime in the month of August, 2024 along Adoration Junction, opposite Dan-Legal Hotel, Emene Enugu within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did defame the character of one Okonkwo Ozioma by shouting in the public that he defile your two daughters, which has expose him to hatred, contempt, ridicule and has damaged his reputation and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 323 and punishable under Section 325 of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Laws of Enugu State of Nigeria, 2004.
The second count reads: “That you Chisom Okonkwo on the 27th day of October, 2025 at State Intelligent Department (SID), Enugu within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did give false information to the Police Detectives that one Okonkwo Ozioma defile your two daughters, which made the Police officers to arrest and detained him, the information you knew to be false and an action he wouldn’t have taken if the true facts were made known to them and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 154(1)(a)&(b) of the Criminal Code, Cap 30, Vol. II, Revised Law of Enugu State of Nigeria 2004.
In Nigeria, individuals who make false rape accusations can face various charges depending on the jurisdiction and the specific circumstances, including perjury, public mischief, or filing a false report to the police, which can lead to significant prison sentences and/or fines. In Lagos State, the relevant law makes false accusations of rape punishable by up to life imprisonment.
If the false accusation is made under oath in a court of law or in an affidavit, the individual can be charged with perjury. In Nigeria, perjury is a serious offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under Section 118 of the Criminal Code Act.
Also, falsely reporting a crime to the police can lead to charges for public mischief or wasting police time. This offence is taken seriously as it diverts resources from real crimes. The penalties can range, but a specific snippet mentions potential imprisonment of up to five years in some cases.
In addition to criminal charges, a person wrongfully accused and acquitted of rape can also pursue a civil lawsuit against the accuser.
