Tinubu vs VDM: Presidency Announces Fresh Development on Fake AI Audio
- The presidency has announced the latest development on the controversies that trailed the AI-generated voice note of President Bola Tinubu
- Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, announced the latest development in a statement on Thursday, June 4
- Recall that Onanuga earlier called for the prosecution of the social media influencer and activist, VDM, while sharing the video with President Tinubu's AI-generated voice
The presidency has announced the arrest of "Ifechukwu Dennis, who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice," by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) crack team.
Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, announced the development in a statement on Thursday, June 4.
Source: Twitter
Onanuga calls for VDM's prosecution
Recall that Onanuga had earlier called for the prosecution of social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as Very Dark Man (VDM), following the circulation of the trending footage.
However, the audio has been confirmed to be AI-generated, which was placed into Very Dark Man's video by someone on social media. The person, now identified as Dennis, had added the AI-generated voice note of President Tinubu and edited it into the activist's video.
Dennis had picked a VDM video and added the AI-generated audio of President Tinubu to make it look like the activist was pushing the audio.
Nigerians react to arrest suspect in Tinubu's AI audio drama
However, Onanuga's announcement of the new development has started generating reactions from Nigerians. Below are some of their comments:
ArcUchenna questioned why bandits can't be tracked like Dennis:
"Bandits can't be tracked, but citizens can be tracked on the slightest comments? Boko Haram is having a day party and wedding reception, Bandits can host a tournament, even kidnap an entire community, and they can't be tracked. Wicked and shameless government."
Source: Twitter
David Kingking urged the government to track abducted schoolchildren and teachers:
"You people can track him, but when it comes to bandits, your tracking machine will stop working. Get to work, our children are still in the bush. Use the same energy. This is part of those good citizens who refuse to do dirty but dedicated there life to work legitimate and also help the future by becoming teachers. But see how they're treated. You people should use the same energy to track the bandits. Posting about the arrest of a fake voice note is very shameful. When the real situation to show capacity is there, but nothing has been done yet. Zero results yet."
Vhiktri urged the government to rescue the kidnapped children:
"You people should use the same speed you used in tracking these unarmed citizens, and track the innocent people kidnapped in the forest too."
Seyifunmioluwatuyi condemned the spreading of fake news:
"This comment weakens my bones. We still have a very long way to go in this country."
Read Onanuga's full statement on X here:
VeryDarkMan's lawyers deny involvement
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the legal team of VeryDarkMan reacted after Bayo Onanuga called for action over a controversial audio allegedly linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The lawyers, Deji Adeyanju & Partners, described the recording as doctored and falsely connected to their client.
The legal team also maintained that a review of Very Dark Man’s verified social media pages would show that he neither created nor circulated the audio while calling on security agencies to investigate those behind the recording.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
