‘Banditry is a structured plan to keep the nation in fear’ - Nigerians react as police arrest suspect behind AI-generated Tinubu voice note

Precious Omolu 07:35 - 05 June 2026

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The arrest of Ifechukwu Dennis in Benin City for manipulating President Tinubu’s voice using AI highlights the government's swift tracking capabilities, sparking intense public debate over security priorities.

Nigerians have reacted after police arrested a man accused of creating an AI-generated voice note falsely attributed to President Bola Tinubu, with many questioning why security agencies appear quicker to solve such cases than tackle kidnapping and banditry.

The Nigerian Police arrested Ifechukwu Dennis for allegedly creating and spreading an AI-generated voice note that falsely mimicked President Tinubu.
The doctored audio was attached to a video featuring VeryDarkMan, but investigations found the social media activist did not post the manipulated version.
Many Nigerians praised the arrest but questioned why authorities seem more effective at tracking a voice-cloning suspect than tackling kidnappers, bandits and other violent criminals.

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the arrest of a man accused of creating and circulating an AI-generated voice note that falsely portrayed President Bola Tinubu making controversial remarks about insecurity, the 2023 election and the state of the nation.

The Nigerian Police Force recently arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, who authorities identified as the originator of the manipulated audio that was widely shared across social media platforms as an alleged leaked recording of the president.

The development was disclosed by the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post shared on his official X account on Thursday.

“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 wrote.

While the presidency initially demanded the prosecution of activist VeryDarkMan, independent fact-checks proved the viral video footage had been stolen and doctored by a third party.

The controversial audio surfaced online on May 27, 2026, and quickly gained traction after it was attached to a video featuring social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM).

In the manipulated clip, a voice generated using artificial intelligence and made to sound like President Tinubu appeared to make several inflammatory claims. The audio suggested that insecurity in Nigeria's South-East region was intentional, claimed that Peter Obi had been pressured to withdraw from the 2023 presidential election, and implied that the president was unconcerned about the hardship facing Nigerians.

However, investigations by several media organisations and fact-checkers later found that VeryDarkMan did not upload the doctored version. Reports showed that an unknown individual extracted footage from his original Instagram video and added the AI-generated voice before reposting it online.

The findings sparked debate after the Presidency initially called for VDM to be prosecuted over the incident. At the time, Onanuga described the circulation of the fake audio as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform.”

The arrest of Dennis appears to bring the investigation closer to a conclusion, although police authorities have yet to release details regarding the specific charges he may face.

Meanwhile, many Nigerians have taken to social media to question the speed of the arrest, comparing it to the country's ongoing battle against banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.

The rapid arrest of a digital voice cloner has caused heavy public backlash, with citizens asking why the same advanced geolocation tracking isn't rescuing abducted schoolchildren.

Some users argued that the efficiency shown in tracking down the suspect should also be applied to violent criminals operating across different parts of the country.

“We should clap for them for tracking him down. Children are still in the bush … failed Govt,” one user wrote.

Another commented, “But they lack the equipment to catch the kidnappers and terrorists and reprimand them .What a Nation.”

A third user suggested that such arrests fuel public scepticism about the country's security challenges.

“These are the things that make people believe insecurity in this country is fabricated. If you can swiftly fish out a faceless voice cloner, why not bandits flaunting payouts on social media or even them releasing live videos of victims?”

The incident has once again highlighted growing concerns over the misuse of artificial intelligence tools to spread misinformation, impersonate public figures and influence public opinion, especially as AI-generated content becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from authentic recordings.