Police arrest suspect behind AI-generated Tinubu voice note

Police have arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, the alleged originator of an AI-generated voice note that was widely circulated online as a leaked recording of President Bola Tinubu. The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the arrest on Thursday via his official X account. “The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, who […]

Police have arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, the alleged originator of an AI-generated voice note that was widely circulated online as a leaked recording of President Bola Tinubu.

The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the arrest on Thursday via his official X account.

“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,” Onanuga said.

The arrest followed a week-long controversy that began on May 27, 2026, after a manipulated video linked to social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), went viral.

The altered clip featured an AI-generated voice resembling that of President Tinubu making controversial remarks, including claims that insecurity in the South-East was deliberate, that he pressured Peter Obi to withdraw from the 2023 presidential race, and that he was unconcerned about Nigerians’ hardships.

Findings indicated that an unidentified individual extracted footage from VDM’s original Instagram video and superimposed the AI-generated voice before recirculating the manipulated version online.

Despite the revelations, the Presidency initially called for VDM’s prosecution. Onanuga had described the incident as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform.”

The development sparked criticism after fact-checkers confirmed that VDM’s original video contained none of the fabricated audio.