21-Year-Old Nigerian Basketball Player Arrested in U.S. Over First-Degree Rape Charge

A 21-year-old Nigerian basketball player, Daniel Tobiloba Adegboyega, has been arrested in the United States and charged with first-degree r@pe.

According to court records, the Jacksonville State University men’s basketball player is being held at the Calhoun County Jail pending a bond hearing. Jail records also show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a hold on him.

The charge stems from an incident said to have occurred on July 29, 2026. An arrest warrant alleges that Adegboyega engaged in s+xual intercourse with the complainant “by forcible compulsion,” in violation of Alabama law.

Adegboyega joined Jacksonville State in May after spending last season at the University of California, Riverside, having previously played for the University of South Florida. He had also signed with Kennesaw State in 2022 but never featured for the team.

Following his arrest, Jacksonville State suspended him from its men’s basketball team and removed his profile from the university’s athletics website.

In a statement, the university said: “We are aware of the arrest. In response, the individual has been suspended from the men’s basketball team.”

It added that the alleged incident did not occur on campus and remains under investigation by the Jacksonville Police Department. Under Alabama law, a conviction for first-degree r@pe carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.