By Opeyemi Adelakun
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over the circulation of a statement allegedly attributed to him concerning the 2027 presidential election.
Akpabio, through his office, denied making the statement and asked the security agency to investigate the origin, creation and circulation of the material.
The development was disclosed on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom.
The controversial material appeared in the form of a graphic carrying Akpabio’s photograph and his designation as President of the Senate. It was circulated on Facebook and other digital platforms with a purported quotation warning Northerners that they would “suffer the most” if President Bola Tinubu lost the 2027 election.
Akpabio’s petition, signed by his Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, described the material as false, inflammatory and divisive.
The petition stated: “The President of the Senate did not make this statement. No date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report has been produced to authenticate it.”
It further questioned the authenticity of the graphic, noting that it allegedly carried no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source.
According to the petition, the material could mislead members of the public, fuel regional resentment and create the impression that Akpabio had issued a threat against people in Northern Nigeria.
The Senate President’s office also named some individuals it said were among the earliest traceable amplifiers of the graphic on Facebook.
They included Abdullai Musa, who allegedly shared the material in the “Sheik Muhammad bin Uthman group 24”, and Uzoma Chilaka, whose post reportedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary attributed to him and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.
The petition also referred to a verified Facebook account belonging to Umar Ammar, which it said subsequently reproduced the graphic and similar commentary.
Akpabio, however, cautioned that the individuals mentioned should not be presumed guilty before the completion of an investigation.
It described them as “material persons of interest” whose activities could potentially assist investigators in identifying the creator, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and wider distribution network behind the graphic.
The petition therefore urged the DSS to examine the publication records, devices, communications and provenance of the image in accordance with the law.
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