By Sunday Ani
Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has disowned a viral video circulating on social media where she was falsely portrayed as alleging that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio blackmailed President Bola Tinubu to ensure her imprisonment by the Federal Government.
In a statement, she described the audio as a malicious fabrication with a cloned voice designed to tarnish her image, incite public mistrust and create tension within the leadership of the National Assembly.
“My attention has been drawn to a video currently trending online purporting to feature me in a conversation with a journalist, where I allegedly claimed that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, blackmailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the Federal Government jails me.
“I categorically and unequivocally dissociate myself from the said video and audio recording. At no time did I grant such an interview or engage in any conversation of that nature. The voice in the video is not mine and has clearly been cloned with malicious intent,” she said.
She further revealed that the video is part of a growing pattern of coordinated cyberattacks at her, noting that her phone and identity had been digitally manipulated on multiple occasions to impersonate her voice in fake conversations.
“This is not the first time such cloned or doctored recordings have been used to malign my person. Previously, cloned audios were circulated falsely suggesting that I had conversations with the former Governor of Edo State and past Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and Senator Ben Obi. There was also another one with the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police in Maitama, ACP Olabisi Davis,” she said.
She added that the latest wave of impersonation has now involved a more dangerous layer of hacking, where her personal phone line was used to place fraudulent calls to several high-profile individuals using a cloned version of her voice.
“Emmanuel Ekon from Akwa Ibom, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Health, Chief Allen Onyema of Air Peace, and the former Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, all received suspicious calls from my phone line. These calls were not from me, but from individuals who had hacked into my communication systems and cloned my voice,” she explained.
She described these actions as criminal, technologically sophisticated, and deeply concerning, warning that such manipulations have grave implications for personal privacy, national security and democratic stability.
“This act is not only mischievous and criminal but also a dangerous use of technology to spread disinformation.
“It is an orchestrated attempt to manipulate public perception, incite division and silence my voice in national discourse,” she stated.
Calling on the public to disregard the content of the video and treat it as the desperate work of faceless attackers, the senator disclosed that she had already instructed her legal team and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“I remain committed to the principles of truth, justice and responsible democratic engagement.
“I will not be cowed or distracted by coordinated campaigns of disinformation and digital impersonation. I urge Nigerians to stay vigilant and resist these evolving threats to our collective peace and democracy,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a lawyer and human rights advocate, has maintained a consistent stance in the Senate on good governance, transparency and people-centered policies. Her latest revelation underscores the growing risk of cyber warfare and impersonation against public officials in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape.