Akpabio petitions DSS over alleged anti-North statement

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged anti-North statement being circulated on social media and falsely attributed to him.

The petition, signed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, Esq., called on the security agency to urgently investigate what it described as the coordinated creation and dissemination of a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive” statement.

The statement, circulated on Facebook and other digital platforms, purportedly quotes the Senate President as saying: “Northerners, You Will Be The Ones To Suffer The Most, If You Allow Tinubu To Lose The Election.”

Akpabio, through the petition, categorically denied making the statement, stressing that there was no identifiable date, venue, speech, interview, audio or video recording, official statement or credible news report authenticating the purported quotation.

According to the petition, the graphic bears Akpabio’s photograph and official designation but contains no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source.

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It alleged that the material appeared to have been deliberately created and circulated to deceive members of the public, provoke regional resentment and portray the Senate President as making threats against people from Northern Nigeria.

The petition also identified some individuals allegedly involved in the early circulation of the graphic, including Abdullai Musa, who reportedly shared it in a Facebook group, and Uzoma Chilaka, whose post allegedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

The Senate President’s office, however, cautioned that the individuals should not be presumed guilty before investigation.

It said their alleged early involvement in circulating the material made them persons of interest who might possess information capable of helping investigators trace the origin of the graphic, its creator, sponsors and distribution network.

The DSS was consequently urged to investigate the publication records, communications and provenance of the material in accordance with the law.

The petition described the alleged fabrication as potentially capable of heightening regional tensions, particularly in the politically sensitive period ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to the public.