President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has petitioned the State Security Services (SSS) over a purported anti-North statement allegedly attributed to him.

A viral statement allegedly quoted Mr Akpabio as threatening that northerners would suffer if President Bola Tinubu loses the 2027 presidential election.

The special assistant to the president of the Senate on media, Jackson Udom, stated this in a statement0 on Wednesday in Abuja.

Mr Udom said the petition, signed by Mr Akpabio’s chief of staff, Chinedu Akubueze, urged the SSS to urgently investigate the dissemination of the alleged false, inflammatory and divisive statement.

He said the graphic, bearing Mr Akpabio’s photograph and designation, attributed the following words to him: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most if you allow Tinubu to lose the election. Unequivocally, the president of the Senate did not make this statement.

“No date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recordings, official statement or credible news report has been produced to authenticate it.

“The graphic carries no identifiable publisher’s mark or verifiable source,” he said.

Mr Udom said the statement appeared to have been deliberately manufactured and presented as an authentic quotation to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

He said those behind the scheme intended to provoke regional resentment against Mr Akpabio and portray him as threatening people in the northern part of the country.

According to him, preliminary examination of publicly accessible Facebook records identified some persons as among the earliest traceable amplifiers of the purported fabricated graphic.

He listed the person as Abdullai Musa, who posted the graphic in a Facebook group styled ‘Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman Group 24.’

Others included Uzoma Chilaka, whose Facebook post allegedly reproduced the graphic commentary expressly credited to him, and Ibrahim Ammar, a verified Facebook account that subsequently reproduced the graphic and similar commentary.

“These persons should not be presumed guilty before investigation. Nevertheless, their early and substantial roles in circulating the material make them persons of interest, who may possess information capable of identifying the graphic designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and distribution network,” he said.

Mr Udom said their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the image should therefore be investigated in accordance with the law. 

(NAN)