The controversy surrounding a viral AI-generated voice recording falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu has taken a decisive turn, with the arrest of the man alleged to have created it.
Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the arrest on Thursday, confirming that the IGP’s crack investigative team had apprehended Ifechukwu Dennis in Benin City. “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. The police will issue an official statement,” Onanuga wrote.
The fake audio, which surfaced on May 27, 2026, featured an AI-cloned voice resembling President Tinubu allegedly vowing to win the 2027 election at all costs. It was doctored into a video of social media activist Martins Vincent Otse — popularly known as VeryDarkMan — making it appear as if he had leaked the audio.
At the time, Onanuga labelled the clip a complete fabrication and called for swift legal action against VeryDarkMan, describing it as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform.”
However, independent fact-checking organisations subsequently confirmed that the original video published by VeryDarkMan contained none of the fabricated audio attributed to President Tinubu, shifting scrutiny back to Onanuga’s earlier accusations.
The AI-generated voice made several controversial claims, including allegations touching on insecurity in the South-East, discussions involving former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and remarks suggesting presidential indifference to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The arrest of Dennis has now vindicated VeryDarkMan and raised fresh questions about the speed at which public officials attributed blame without full investigation. Formal charges against Dennis are expected in an upcoming official police statement.
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