The Presidency on Wednesday threatened legal action against popular social media commentator, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over the circulation of an alleged AI-generated audio falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu.
The Presidency accused the social media influencer of disseminating manipulated digital content designed to mislead the public and damage the image of the President.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued the warning in a post shared on his verified X handle.
Reacting to a video allegedly posted by VDM, Onanuga described the circulation of the audio as a serious abuse of social media platforms and suggested that legal consequences could follow.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” Onanuga wrote.
The controversial audio, believed to bear signs of artificial intelligence voice cloning technology, allegedly featured a voice imitating Tinubu making inflammatory remarks on issues including insecurity in the South-East, the 2027 elections, alleged discussions with Peter Obi during the 2022 election period, and the use of World Bank loans.
According to the Presidency, the statements contained in the recording were entirely false and fabricated.
In the video cited by Onanuga, VDM reportedly urged his followers to listen to the audio and draw their own conclusions regarding its authenticity.
READ ALSO: Presidency Threatens Legal Action Against VDM Over Alleged AI-Generated Tinubu Audio
“You people watch it, see this next video I’m about to play. After you people watch it, we’ll come decide whether na for shrine them cook una mind,” he was quoted as saying in a mix of English and Pidgin.
After playing the audio, the commentator allegedly criticised Tinubu’s administration and declared that the President had nothing more to offer Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.
Onanuga’s reaction came through a quote-retweet of another X user identified as Aneex, who criticised the circulation of the clip and described it as propaganda targeted at emotionally influencing members of the public.
However, checks reportedly carried out by correspondents indicated that VDM did not have such audio on his visible video uploads at the time of review.
The latest controversy adds to growing concerns over the increasing use of artificial intelligence tools to generate misleading political content and deepfake materials in Nigeria.
Recently, the Coalition for Ethical Technology and Democratic Integrity called on the Federal Government and security agencies to criminalise AI-generated blackmail, warning that deepfake content could pose a serious threat to the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
The Federal Government had earlier warned Nigerians about an AI-generated advertisement falsely using Tinubu’s image and likeness to promote a fraudulent investment scheme on Facebook.
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria had also cautioned that individuals or organisations found violating advertising and digital content regulations would face sanctions.
Under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act 2015, the production and dissemination of false digital communications intended to harm reputations or mislead the public are criminal offences punishable by law, including possible imprisonment.