Akon firmly believes there's no way Nelly raped anyone, and his theory on what led to his friend's arrest echoes what Nelly claims himself.
We got the singer at LAX Saturday, and our guy throws him for a loop right away with the news. Akon's clearly not buying it, though ... and practically guarantees it's not true because he knows Nelly.
Then it gets really interesting ... Akon speculates the rape charge could be a case of mistaken identity or -- even worse -- the accuser might have made it all up to try to score an easy payday from the rapper.
Either way it's evident -- Akon thinks the rape allegations against Nelly are completely bogus ... which is exactly how Nelly feels.