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President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services over an alleged anti-Northern statement attributed to him and circulated on Facebook and other digital platforms.
Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
The petition, filed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, on behalf of the Senate President, urged the DSS to investigate what it described as the creation and coordinated dissemination of a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive statement” purportedly made by Akpabio.
The graphic, according to the petition, carries Akpabio’s photograph and official designation and attributes the following statement to him: “Northerners, You Will Be The Ones To Suffer The Most, If You Allow Tinubu To Lose The Election”.
The Senate President’s office, however, denied that he made the statement.
“Akpabio did not make this statement. No date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recordings, official statement or credible news report has been produced to authenticate it,” the petition stated.
It added that the graphic bore no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source and appeared to have been deliberately created and presented as an authentic quotation.
Akubueze alleged that the fabrication was intended to deceive the public, provoke regional resentment against Akpabio and portray him as threatening people in Northern Nigeria.
Persons of interest identified
The petition said a preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records identified some of the earliest traceable accounts that allegedly amplified the graphic.
They included Abdullai Musa, who allegedly posted it in a Facebook group identified as “Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman group 24”, and Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.
The petition also listed a verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar as having subsequently reproduced the graphic and substantially similar commentary.
Akpabio’s office, however, cautioned against presuming the identified individuals guilty, describing them as persons of interest whose activities could assist investigators in tracing the origin and distribution of the alleged fake statement.
“These persons should not be presumed guilty before investigation. Nevertheless, their early and substantial roles in circulating the material make them material persons of interest, who may possess information capable of identifying the graphics designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and the network through which it was distributed,” the petition stated.
It urged the DSS to investigate their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the image in accordance with the law.
Petition comes ahead of 2027 election
The petition comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections, with politicians and political parties increasingly using social media to mobilise supporters and campaign for public support.
Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District, is a prominent political figure in President Bola Tinubu’s administration and has featured prominently in political debates surrounding the 2027 elections.
The Senate President’s office urged the DSS to investigate the alleged fabrication and identify those responsible for creating and distributing the statement.
