The Presidency on Wednesday demanded legal action against social media influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over the circulation of an audio recording allegedly linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the audio as fake and accused the influencer of spreading false information capable of misleading the public.
The controversy began after the recording surfaced online, with claims that the voice belonged to President Tinubu. In the clip, the speaker allegedly made remarks suggesting that Nigeria had no future under his administration, referenced former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and spoke on issues relating to insecurity and the 2023 presidential election.
Reacting through a post on X, Onanuga condemned the circulation of the recording and insisted that those responsible should face legal consequences.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” the presidential aide wrote.
Onanuga’s reaction followed comments by an X user identified as Aneex, who dismissed the recording as “cheap propaganda” and questioned claims that the voice in the audio belonged to the President.
The development has sparked widespread reactions online, with many social media users disputing the authenticity of the recording. Several commentators noted that the voice in the clip sounded unusually fast and clear compared to Tinubu’s familiar speaking pattern, which many described as slower and more deliberate.
The controversy has also renewed concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence and voice-cloning technology to spread misinformation and manipulate political narratives on social media.
Leave a Reply