A Nigerian basketball player, Daniel Adegboyega, has been arraigned in the United States on a charge of first-degree rape following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at his residence in Jacksonville, Alabama.
The 21-year-old, who recently signed for Jacksonville State University’s men’s basketball team, was arrested in July by detectives from the Jacksonville Police Department and has remained in custody at the Calhoun County Jail without bail.
According to court records, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also placed an immigration hold on the Nigerian athlete.
Authorities alleged that the complainant visited Adegboyega’s apartment on July 28 to spend time with him and watch a movie before the incident allegedly occurred.
Investigators said the woman secretly alerted her roommate through a text message after the basketball player allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward her.
When repeated phone calls to the woman went unanswered, the roommate reportedly became suspicious. Police said Adegboyega later answered one of the calls using the woman’s phone and claimed she was unavailable because she was in the bathroom.
Concerned for her safety, the roommate contacted law enforcement officers and requested that they check on her welfare.
Officers who arrived at the apartment around 2 a.m. reportedly found the woman visibly distressed and proceeded to interview both parties.
Police also recovered items considered relevant to the investigation, including a pair of bloodstained trousers belonging to the complainant.
Investigators said the woman accused Adegboyega of raping her twice during the visit, an allegation the athlete has denied.
The Nigerian has pleaded not guilty to the charge and remains in detention pending further court proceedings.
During a bond hearing, ICE official Ty Unruh told the court that Adegboyega entered the United States on an F-1 student visa, which allegedly expired in 2023.
The official added that if the court approves his release on bail, he would immediately be transferred to an immigration detention centre in Louisiana, where deportation proceedings could be initiated.
However, Adegboyega’s host father, Ryan Parlee, disputed the immigration claims, insisting the athlete’s documentation issues resulted from administrative complications rather than any deliberate immigration violation.
Parlee explained that Adegboyega completed his high school education in Iowa in 2022 and never travelled back to Nigeria afterward.
He further claimed that the immigration challenges worsened after the player’s transfer from the University of South Florida to the University of California, Riverside, alleging that the institution failed to process the necessary immigration paperwork before his latest move to Jacksonville State University.
The case is expected to continue before an Alabama court as prosecutors pursue the rape charge against the Nigerian basketball player.