Ex-Big Brother Naija housemate, Natasha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, has fired back at the growing trend of false rape allegations.
She cautioned that such fabrications do grave injustice to genuine victims and embolden those who dismiss sexual violence entirely.
The outspoken reality television star, speaking in a video posted on her Instagram page on Thursday, seized on the controversy surrounding TikTok user Mirabel, who recently confessed to concocting a rape allegation, to deliver a stinging rebuke of those who deploy sexual abuse claims as weapons of personal vendettas.
“Rape is a very serious issue. Women should never weaponise rape for any reason, because at the end of the day, you are taking away from the real victims,” Tacha declared, her tone leaving little room for ambiguity.
The celebrity, never one to mince words, argued that every false accusation chips away at the credibility of authentic survivors, making it increasingly difficult for real victims to receive the justice and belief they deserve.
She went further, calling for tangible consequences for offenders, insisting that any woman who falsely accuses a man of rape “should be taught a lesson.”
While conceding that mental health challenges may underlie some such incidents, Tacha maintained that leniency cannot be a shield where deliberate falsehoods are concerned, stressing that penalties remain essential to impress upon the public the gravity of sexual violence allegations.
Keen to forestall any misreading of her position, she was emphatic that her remarks should not be construed as a dismissal of genuine cases.
“I am not going to back down from the fact that women still do get raped. I am not going back down from the fact that there are real victims out there,” she stated pointedly.
