Senate President Godswill Akpabio has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over a statement allegedly attributed to him and circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
The petition was filed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, on behalf of the Senate President. It asked the DSS to investigate what it described as a “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive statement” being circulated alongside Akpabio’s photograph and official designation.
The statement allegedly quoted Akpabio as saying: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election.”
Akubueze said Akpabio did not make the statement and that no evidence had been produced to authenticate the alleged remark.
“Akpabio did not make this statement. No date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recordings, official statement or credible news report has been produced to authenticate it,” the petition stated.
The petition also said the graphic had no identifiable publisher or verifiable source and may have been created to appear as an authentic statement from the Senate President.
According to Akubueze, the alleged statement was intended to mislead the public, provoke anger against Akpabio and portray him as threatening people from Northern Nigeria.
The petition named several Facebook users who allegedly circulated the graphic at an early stage, including Abdullai Musa, who reportedly shared it in the “Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman group 24” Facebook group.
It also mentioned Uzoma Chilaka, who allegedly shared the graphic with commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar. A verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar was also identified as having later shared the graphic and similar commentary.
Akpabio’s office, however, cautioned against treating the individuals named in the petition as guilty before an investigation is conducted.
The petition asked the DSS to examine their publication records, devices and communications, as well as the origin and distribution of the graphic, to determine who created it and whether others sponsored or facilitated its circulation.
The petition comes amid increased political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with political actors and supporters increasingly using social media platforms for campaigning and mobilisation.
Akpabio Petitions DSS Over Alleged Anti-Northern Statement
