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The Nigerian Police Force has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, the man identified as the originator of an AI-generated voice note that circulated online as a leaked recording of President Bola Tinubu, a presidential aide announced Thursday.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed the arrest in a post on his official X account.
“The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice,” Onanuga wrote.
“Dennis was arrested in Benin. The police will issue an official statement.”
The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice. Dennis was arrested in Benin. The police will issue an official statement. https://t.co/Xs8FM7nZ2C pic.twitter.com/rKTH3kvZJh
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) June 4, 2026
The arrest closes a week-long controversy that began on May 27, 2026, when a video of social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, went viral.
In the clip, an AI-generated voice resembling Tinubu’s made inflammatory statements, including that insecurity in the South-East was deliberate, that he had pressured Peter Obi to step down ahead of the 2027 election, and that he was indifferent to Nigerians’ suffering.
Investigations by multiple news organisations established that Otse had not posted the doctored audio.
An unidentified individual extracted footage from Otse’s original Instagram video, superimposed AI-generated voice notes, and recirculated the manipulated version online.
A tech expert has just traced the origin of the fake AI voice note attributed to President Tinubu and revealed the true identity of suspected mastermind of the fake voice note: IFECHUKWU DENNIS. @OfficialDSSNG @PoliceNG pic.twitter.com/fQ3nmjDpAf
— AJE (@Riddwane) June 1, 2026
Despite the findings, the Presidency initially called for Otse’s prosecution.
Onanuga had described the incident as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform,” drawing criticism after fact-checkers confirmed Otse’s original video contained none of the fabricated audio.
Further details on the circumstances of Dennis’s arrest and the charges he may face were not immediately available at the time of filing.
