Presidency Seeks VDM’s Prosecution Over Alleged Deepfake Tinubu Clip

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ABUJA – Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has accused so­cial media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VDM, of circulating a fabricated audio clip depicting the voice of President Bola Tinubu.

He called for his immediate prosecution to serve as deterrent to others.

Onanuga took to a post on Wednesday, via his verified X handle @aonanuga1956, to ac­cuse VDM of abusing social media by disseminating what he called “false information ca­pable of misleading the public and damaging the image of the president.”

“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu,” Onanuga said. “This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.”

It would be recalled that the dispute revolves around a video VDM posted in which he played an audio clip he said featured Tinubu commenting on the coun­try’s political situation, insecuri­ty in the South-East and plans for the 2027 elections.

Introducing the clip, VDM asked viewers, “After this audio that I am about to play, I would ask if they cooked Nigerians who will support Tinubu in 2027, or you guys are okay.”

The recording, which circu­lated online, reportedly includ­ed statements in which a voice alleged to be the president said those trying to remove him from office “have been trying to take me out of the position, but it’s not possible,” and suggested he would not act to halt insecurity in the South-East because doing so would harm his party’s electoral prospects.

The controversial audio clip equally quoted the voice saying he intended to “borrow more and more money from the World Bank” and that loans were being used to “fund them”.

Debunking the voice note, Onanuga described it as manipu­lated and warned that the spread of unverified material “poses serious dangers to public trust, national security, and democratic stability.

According to the presidential spokesman, those responsible for circulating such content should be held accountable under the law.