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The arrest was confirmed on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, through a post on his official X account. According to Onanuga, Dennis was identified as the individual responsible for creating and distributing the manipulated audio clip, which was falsely presented as the President’s voice. “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 stated.
The controversy began on May 27, 2026, after a video featuring social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, gained widespread attention online. In the altered version of the clip, an AI-generated voice resembling President Tinubu made several controversial remarks, including claims that insecurity in the South-East was intentional, that Peter Obi had been pressured to step down before the 2023 presidential election, and that the government was indifferent to the suffering of Nigerians.
Subsequent investigations by several media organisations revealed that the activist did not originally post the doctored audio. Reports indicated that an unidentified individual extracted footage from VeryDarkMan’s Instagram video and later superimposed the fabricated AI voice before redistributing the edited version online. Despite the findings, the Presidency initially called for the prosecution of VeryDarkMan over the incident.
Onanuga had earlier condemned the circulation of the manipulated content, describing it as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform.” The Presidency’s reaction drew criticism after independent fact-checkers confirmed that the activist’s original video did not contain the fake audio recording. Authorities have yet to release full details regarding the circumstances surrounding Dennis’s arrest or the specific charges that may be filed against him.
