A trip to London for one of Afrobeats' biggest live shows of the year has turned into a criminal case that could define the rest of Poco Lee's career.
Nigerian dancer, hypeman, and entertainer Iweh Odinaka, known professionally as Poco Lee, is being held on remand in a United Kingdom prison after being charged with five sexual offences. His case is listed before Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, with a plea and trial preparation hearing scheduled for September 15, 2026. Poco Lee has not been convicted of any offence, and the allegations remain to be tested in court.
Here is what has been confirmed, and what remains only alleged, as the case has unfolded.
The Davido and Friends Show, Then an Arrest
Poco Lee travelled to the UK in August for performance engagements, among them the Davido and Friends concert at Crystal Palace Bowl in London on August 14, 2026, where he shared the stage with Davido and other artistes. He posted about the event on his own social media, and photos and videos from the night showed him performing alongside the headliner.
According to reporting citing UK-based Nigerian community advocate Benjamin Kuti, known as Oluomo of Derby, Poco Lee was arrested shortly after the event as he was preparing to leave the UK for Nigeria.
Reports of his detention first began circulating on Nigerian social media between August 18 and 19, initially without official confirmation from UK police or courts. A bail application was reportedly heard on August 21, though he ultimately remained in custody.
The Charges
Confirmation of the specific charges came through Snaresbrook Crown Court's Admin Team Lead, James Baker, who responded to media enquiries in writing. Baker confirmed that Poco Lee has been charged with attempted rape, two counts of rape, and two counts of assault by penetration. He noted that a reporting restriction is in place under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992, protecting the identity of the complainant.
Baker also confirmed that Poco Lee is currently on remand and that his case is listed for plea and trial preparation on September 15, 2026, at Snaresbrook Crown Court. The exact time and courtroom will not be released until the day before the hearing, though the proceedings themselves are open to the public. At the plea hearing, Poco Lee is expected to indicate whether he intends to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.
A Separate Allegation Surfaces in the US
As news of the UK case spread, a second, unrelated allegation emerged from Texas-based Nigerian rapper Ms Jorji, who said in a series of videos that Poco Lee had attempted to sexually assault her and a female friend at his apartment in Dallas roughly two years earlier, in 2024.
According to Ms Jorji's account, she and her friend, who knew Poco Lee from school in Nigeria, visited his apartment after he invited them over so she could seek career advice. She said she made clear she was married and wearing her wedding ring at the time.
She alleged that after she played him one of her songs, he made an unwanted physical advance toward her, which she rebuffed, and then turned his attention to her friend, allegedly attempting to pull her into another room. Ms Jorji said the two women resisted, and in her account, the confrontation became physical before they left the apartment and drove for several hours back to their destination. She has described the incident as attempted assault, saying explicitly, “we didn't report him off, so there was no assault. It was attempted.”
Ms Jorji said she did not go to police at the time because she felt she lacked sufficient evidence and worried she would not be believed given Poco Lee's standing in the industry. She said she decided to speak publicly only after the UK reports surfaced, and that her own experience shaped how she viewed the allegations against him.
She has since publicly defended her account against online skepticism, including a public exchange with commentator VeryDarkMan, telling him that if Poco Lee felt she had lied, he was free to respond directly.
It is important to note that Ms Jorji's allegations are separate from the UK criminal case, have not been independently verified by any law enforcement body or court, and no connection has been established between her account and the charges before Snaresbrook Crown Court. Poco Lee has not publicly responded to her specific allegations.
A Misused Photo, and a Case of Mistaken Identity
The story took an odd turn when a woman using the Instagram handle “Ray” publicly denied any connection to the case after her photograph began circulating online alongside Poco Lee's, misleadingly implicating her in the allegations. She said her image had been misused to spread a false narrative and had nothing to do with the actual case.
Management Responds, Denies “Drink Spiking” Claims
Poco Lee's management and legal team stayed largely quiet through the early days of the story before issuing a formal statement on August 25, signed by Adedoyin Faleye and shared on Instagram. The statement confirmed the September 15 Snaresbrook Crown Court date and pushed back specifically against claims that the case involved drink-spiking, which had begun circulating widely online. The team said such claims form no part of the actual charges before the court.
The statement leaned heavily on due process, arguing that the public should not treat allegations as proven fact. “Every individual is entitled to a fair hearing and to have their matter determined by due process of law, not by public opinion,” it read, and separately: “Allegations are not evidence of guilt, and no conclusions should be drawn until the matter has been heard and determined through the appropriate legal process.” The team said further updates would come through official channels and thanked the public for patience.
Reactions From Poco Lee's Inner Circle
Nigerian socialite Rahman Jago, a close friend of Poco Lee, has spoken out in his defence, describing the situation as heartbreaking and appealing to the public not to exploit the case for social media attention.
Jago said he believes there is more to the story than has been publicly reported. Kuti, the community advocate who first confirmed Poco Lee's detention, has said he plans to personally attend the September court proceedings as part of his broader work supporting Nigerians facing legal matters in the UK.
Where Things Stand
Poco Lee remains on remand in the UK ahead of the September 15 hearing, where he is expected to enter a plea. That date marks plea and trial preparation, not the start of a full trial, meaning the case is likely to continue well beyond it regardless of how he pleads. His management maintains he has not been convicted of anything and is asking the public to reserve judgment until the legal process runs its course.
Amid the case, Poco Lee still picked up three nominations at the 2026 Headies, for Best Collaboration, Best Street-Hop Artiste, and Song of the Year (for “Hey Jago” featuring Shoday and Rahman Jago), a reminder of how abruptly his professional standing and his legal reality are now sitting side by side. Nothing about the outcome of either the UK case or Ms Jorji's separate allegations has been determined, and both remain, for now, exactly that: allegations before they are proven.
