By Dominic Monday, Warri
The Presidency has vehemently condemned controversial social media influencer and activist, Martine Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over the dissemination of an alleged leaked WhatsApp audio recording attributed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Describing the audio clip as entirely fabricated and malicious, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, declared that the content was a dangerous manipulation intended to mislead the public and undermine national security.
He subsequently called on law enforcement agencies to ensure the influencer faces the full wrath of the law.
The controversial audio, which has fast gone viral across multiple digital platforms, purports to feature the voice of President Tinubu making several shocking declarations.
In the clip, the speaker claims that the President confessed to funding the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) through the proceeds of national insecurity, asserting that the administration would not put an end to the security crises plaguing the country because it serves as a primary financial pipeline for the party.
Furthermore, the voice in the audio alleged that prior to the 2023 general elections, President Tinubu reached out to the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, pleading with him to step down from the race.
The recording claims the President vowed never to beg Obi again, boastfully adding that he would go on to win the election regardless of opposition.
Reacting sharply to the clip via his official handle on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Onanuga accused VeryDarkMan of deliberately exploiting social media to spread dangerous falsehoods against the seat of power.
Onanuga wrote: “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 emphasized that the federal government would no longer tolerate the unchecked weaponization of deepfakes and artificial intelligence-generated media designed to destabilize the polity or defame the person of the President.
This latest confrontation underscores the growing friction between the federal government and independent social media commentators over the regulation of digital speech and digital forgery.
Over the last few years, Nigerian regulatory authorities and security agencies have repeatedly raised alarms regarding the proliferation of misinformation, fake news, and highly sophisticated digital manipulations targeting key political figures.
The individual at the center of the storm, VeryDarkMan, has built a massive online following for his outspoken and often abrasive commentary on national issues, consumer rights, and high-profile controversies involving celebrities and politicians alike.
While his followers praise him for exposing societal ills, critics have frequently pointed out the risks of his platform broadcasting unverified and inflammatory material to millions of impressionable citizens.
The contents of the alleged audio directly exploit deeply rooted anxieties in Nigeria’s political landscape. Concerns over persistent insecurity—ranging from banditry in the Northwest to insurgency in the Northeast—have remained primary points of criticism against the APC-led administration since it took power in 2015 and maintained it following the keenly contested 2023 elections.
Similarly, the political rivalry between President Tinubu and Labour Party’s Peter Obi remains a highly volatile subject online, with supporters of both factions frequently clashing on social media.
Legal experts note that if the authorities choose to move forward with Onanuga’s call for prosecution, the case could be handled under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, which explicitly criminalizes the conscious distribution of false or engineered data intended to cause breakdown of law and order, insult, or severe reputational damage.
As of the time of filing this report, VeryDarkMan has yet to issue an official response to the Presidency’s demand for his prosecution.
