Akpabio raises alarm, petitions DSS over alleged anti-Northern statement

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged anti-northern statement being circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The petition, which was made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday by Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, called for an investigation into the statement.

It was filed by the Senate President’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, on his behalf.

In the petition, Akpabio asked the DSS to investigate what he described as a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive statement” being wrongly attributed to him.

The Senate President’s camp said the investigation was necessary to establish the source of the statement and address its circulation on social media.

The statement was shared alongside Akpabio’s photograph and official designation. It allegedly quoted him as saying: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election”.

According to the petition, “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.”

It also said the graphic had no identifiable publisher or verifiable source, suggesting that it may have been deliberately created to look like a genuine statement from the Senate President.

According to Akubueze, the alleged fake statement was designed to mislead the public, create anger against Akpabio and make it appear that he was threatening people from Northern Nigeria.

The petition identified some Facebook users who allegedly shared the graphic at an early stage. They included Abdullai Musa, who reportedly posted it in a Facebook group called “Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman group 24”, and Uzoma Chilaka, who allegedly shared it with a commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

A verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar was also mentioned as having later shared the same graphic and similar commentary.

However, Akpabio’s office said the people mentioned should not be considered guilty before any investigation is carried out.

“These persons,” the petition noted, “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.

“Their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the image should therefore be investigated in accordance with the laws”.

The petition comes as political activities increase ahead of the 2027 general elections, with politicians and parties making extensive use of social media to campaign and mobilise supporters.

Follow Very Nigerian WhatsApp Channel
For Verified Breaking News, Exclusive Reports, Trending Stories, And Real-time Updates.
CLICk HERE TO JOIN!