Akpabio has petitioned DSS over alleged anti-Northern statement circulated online.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that 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.
Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
The petition was filed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, on behalf of the Senate President, urging the DSS to investigate what it described as a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive statement” being attributed to Akpabio.
The statement, which was circulated alongside Akpabio’s photograph and official designation, allegedly quoted the Senate President as saying: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election.”
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However, Akubueze stated that Akpabio did not make the statement and challenged those circulating it to provide evidence authenticating the alleged remark.
According to the petition, no date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report has been produced to substantiate the claim.
The petition also noted that the graphic had no identifiable publisher or verifiable source, raising concerns that it may have been deliberately designed to appear as an authentic statement from the Senate President.
Akubueze said the alleged fake statement was capable of misleading the public, provoking anger against Akpabio and creating the impression that the Senate President 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 known as “Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman group 24.”
Another person identified was Uzoma Chilaka, who allegedly shared the graphic alongside commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.
A verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar was also mentioned in the petition as having later shared the same graphic and similar commentary.
However, Akpabio’s office cautioned that the individuals named in the petition should not be presumed guilty before the completion of any investigation.
The petition described them as “material persons of interest” whose publication records, devices, communications and other available information could assist investigators in determining the origin and distribution of the graphic.
It urged the DSS to investigate the provenance of the image and determine the identities of the graphics designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and others involved in its distribution, in accordance with the law.
The petition comes amid increasing political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with political actors and supporters increasingly using social media platforms for campaigning, mobilisation and public messaging.
Akpabio’s decision to petition the DSS underscores growing concerns over the circulation of fabricated statements and potentially inflammatory content attributed to political figures as the election season approaches.
