The Presidency has announced the arrest of a suspect allegedly linked to the circulation of a fake audio message purportedly featuring President Bola Tinubu’s voice.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, stating that the suspect was apprehended by a crack team of the Inspector-General of Police in Benin, Edo State.
The AI-generated voice notes falsely attributed to the president had falsely claimed that he deliberately allowed insecurity to persist in parts of the country for political reasons.
The audio also claimed that the president had asked former Anambra State governor Peter Obi to step down in his favour and threatened to worsen insecurity in the South-east.
Speaking Onanuga said, “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.”
Onanuga also revealed that another individual was arrested over a social media post that allegedly raised security concerns about Abuja, saying the action underscored the consequences of spreading unverified information capable of causing public panic.
“The police have also arrested this Nigerian who made an alarming post about Abuja’s security, spreading fear among citizens. By arresting him, the police have sent the clear message that reckless users of the social media won’t go free.”
Efforts by THE WHISTLER to obtain further confirmation and details from the Nigeria Police Force were unsuccessful as of press time.
Messages sent to the Force Public Relations Officer, Anthony Placid were not responded to at the time of filing this report.
