Akpabio Petitions DSS Over Alleged Anti-North Statement Circulated Online

Reported By Facthabournews

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged anti-Northern statement being circulated on Facebook and other digital platforms in his name.

The Senate President, through a petition signed by his Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, asked the security agency to urgently investigate what he described as the creation and coordinated dissemination of a false, inflammatory and divisive statement attributed to him.

The development comes as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections intensify, with social media increasingly becoming a major platform for political campaigns, mobilisation and the circulation of political claims.

According to the petition, a graphic carrying Akpabio’s photograph and his designation as President of the Senate had been circulated online with the purported quotation: “Northerners, You Will Be The Ones To Suffer The Most, If You Allow Tinubu To Lose The Election.”

Akpabio, however, denied making the statement and maintained that there was no credible evidence establishing that he made the alleged remark.

The petition stated that no date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report had been produced to authenticate the quotation.

It further alleged that the graphic carried no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source and appeared to have been manufactured and presented as an authentic statement.

According to Akpabio’s petition, the alleged fabrication could mislead members of the public, provoke regional resentment and portray the Senate President as threatening people from Northern Nigeria.

The Senate President consequently asked the DSS to investigate the origin of the graphic and determine the individuals and network responsible for its creation and distribution.

The petition also identified some individuals whom Akpabio’s office said were among the earliest traceable amplifiers of the material based on a preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records.

Those identified included Abdullai Musa, who allegedly posted the graphic in a Facebook group described in the petition as “Sheik Muhammad bin Uthman group 24,” and Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic alongside commentary attributed to him and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

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

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

Instead, the petition described them as persons of interest whose activities could potentially assist investigators in tracing the source of the disputed material.

It asked that their publication records, communications, devices and the provenance of the image be examined in accordance with the law.

The requested investigation, according to the petition, is expected to establish who created the graphic, who first uploaded it, whether there were sponsors or intermediaries involved and how the material was subsequently distributed across social media platforms.

The Senate President’s office has also separately challenged those circulating the alleged quotation to produce evidence showing where and when Akpabio purportedly made the statement.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio described the alleged quotation as a “complete fabrication” and demanded evidence from those making or circulating the claim.

The Senate President’s media office said anyone claiming that Akpabio made the statement should provide the original video or audio recording, identify the occasion, give the date and venue, and identify any journalists or media organisations that witnessed or reported the alleged remarks.

The office also said that if a person merely reposted the material, that person should identify the original source from which it was obtained so that the chain of publication could be established.

Akpabio’s office argued that the allegation was particularly dangerous because of Nigeria’s ethnic and regional sensitivities, especially in the period leading to the 2027 elections.

It urged Nigerians not to treat repeated social media circulation as proof of authenticity, stressing that a controversial quotation should be supported by verifiable primary evidence.

The latest controversy is not the first time Akpabio has been the subject of allegations involving purported anti-Northern comments.

In May 2026, his office also denied a viral claim that the Senate President had allegedly threatened that Northerners would be expelled from Nigeria if they failed to support President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election. His office described that earlier allegation as false and malicious.

The recurrence of such claims has further raised concerns about the use of manipulated graphics, fabricated quotations and misleading social media content in Nigeria’s increasingly heated political environment.

Political parties and politicians are expected to make extensive use of digital platforms as the 2027 elections approach. While social media provides an avenue for candidates and political parties to communicate directly with voters, it has also become a channel through which unverified information can spread rapidly.

The latest dispute involving Akpabio therefore highlights the wider challenge facing political communication in an election season, particularly where allegations have the potential to deepen ethnic or regional divisions.

Akpabio’s petition asks the DSS to establish the facts surrounding the disputed graphic and take appropriate action based on the outcome of its investigation.

At the time of the petition, there was no indication from the DSS that an investigation had been completed or that any person identified by Akpabio’s office had been found responsible for creating the alleged graphic.

The individuals named in the petition should consequently be regarded only as persons identified by the Senate President’s office for possible investigation, rather than as persons established to have committed an offence.

As the political atmosphere ahead of the 2027 elections becomes increasingly active, the controversy is likely to fuel further discussion about responsible political communication and the need for Nigerians to verify sensitive claims before sharing them.

For Akpabio, the immediate position is that he did not make the alleged anti-North statement and that those circulating it should provide evidence to support the attribution or withdraw the claim.

The DSS petition now places the matter before the security agency, which could determine, subject to its investigation and applicable law, the origin and distribution of the disputed material.