Senate President Godswill Akpabio has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate an alleged anti-northern statement being circulated on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, made the petition available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.

The petition, filed by Akpabio’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, on behalf of the Senate President, described the statement as “manifestly false, inflammatory and dangerously divisive.”

The statement, circulated alongside Akpabio’s photograph and official designation, allegedly quoted him as saying: “Northerners, you will be the ones to suffer the most, if you allow Tinubu to lose the election”.

According to the petition, Akpabio did not make the statement and no date, venue, speech, interview, video, audio recording, official statement or credible news report had been produced to authenticate it.

The petition also alleged that the graphic had no identifiable publisher or verifiable source and may have been deliberately designed to appear as an authentic statement from the Senate President.

Akubueze said the alleged fake statement was intended to mislead the public, provoke anger against Akpabio and portray him as threatening people from Northern Nigeria.

The petition identified some Facebook users who allegedly circulated the graphic at an early stage, including Abdullai Musa, who reportedly posted it in the “Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthman group 24”, and Uzoma Chilaka, who allegedly shared it with commentary attributed to Boniface Uzoma Chilaka and Engineer Ibrahim Umar Ammar.

A verified Facebook account belonging to Ibrahim Umar Ammar was also cited as having later shared the same graphic and similar commentary.

Akpabio’s office, however, cautioned that the individuals named in the petition should not be presumed guilty before investigation.

“These persons,” the petition noted, “should not be presumed guilty before investigation. Nevertheless, their early and substantial roles in circulating the material make them material persons of interest, who may possess information capable of identifying the graphics designer, original uploader, sponsors, intermediaries and the network through which it was distributed.

“Their publication records, devices, communications and the provenance of the image should therefore be investigated in accordance with the laws”.

The petition comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with political actors increasingly relying on social media for campaign and mobilisation.