Alleged Anti-North Comments: Akpabio Petitions DSS Over Viral Statement

…Seeks probe of alleged coordinated dissemination of fabricated quote

The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services over a purported anti-Northern statement being circulated on social media and attributed to him.

The petition, dated Wednesday, September 9, 2026, was signed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, Esq., on behalf of the Senate President.

In the petition, Akpabio urged the DSS to urgently investigate what he described as the creation and coordinated dissemination of a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive statement” attributed to him.

According to the petition, the controversial graphic bears Akpabio’s photograph and official designation and attributes the following statement to him: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election.”

The Senate President’s office, however, stated unequivocally that Akpabio did not make the statement.

It said no date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report had been produced to authenticate the purported quotation.

“The graphic carries no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source. It appears to have been deliberately manufactured and presented as an authentic quotation for the purpose of deceiving the public, provoking regional resentment against the President of the Senate and portraying him as threatening the people of Northern Nigeria,” the petition stated.

The petition further disclosed that a preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records identified some individuals as among the earliest traceable amplifiers of the disputed graphic.

It named Abdullai Musa, who allegedly posted the graphic in a Facebook group identified as “Sheik Muhammad bin Uthman Group 24,” and Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary credited to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

The petition also referenced a verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar, which it said subsequently reproduced the graphic and substantially similar commentary.

However, Akpabio’s office stressed that the individuals named in the petition should not be presumed guilty before an investigation is conducted.

It described them instead as “material persons of interest” because of their alleged early and substantial roles in circulating the material.

According to the petition, their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the disputed image should be examined in accordance with the law.

It said such an investigation could help security agencies determine the identity of the alleged graphics designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and the broader network through which the material was distributed.

The Senate President’s office maintained that the circulation of the purported statement was capable of misleading members of the public, provoking regional resentment and undermining peaceful political engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The petition therefore urged the DSS to investigate the origin and dissemination of the graphic and take appropriate action against anyone found to have deliberately manufactured or circulated it.