Police arrest man in Benin over fake audio of President Tinubu

A suspect identified as Ifechukwu Dennis has been arrested in Benin, Edo State, over the circulation of a fake audio recording falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu.

The development was disclosed on Thursday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on social media.

According to Onanuga, the suspect was apprehended by a police crack team for allegedly creating and distributing the fabricated audio, which was later shared widely online.

“The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice. Dennis was arrested in Benin.

“The police will issue an official statement,” Onanuga wrote.

The arrest follows controversy surrounding a viral video involving activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan. The video appeared to show the activist referencing an audio recording purportedly featuring President Tinubu.

However, it later emerged that the clip had been doctored, with the fake audio superimposed on visuals of the Abuja-based social media commentator.

At the height of the controversy, Onanuga had called for VeryDarkMan to face legal consequences over the incident. He was subsequently corrected after questions were raised about the authenticity of the audio and the activist’s role in its circulation.

With the arrest of Dennis, Onanuga has now identified what he described as the originator of the fake recording and indicated that the police would provide further details through an official statement.