Presidential Aide Critiques AI-Generated Tinubu Audio

Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser to President Bola Tinubu, condemned VDM for disseminating an AI-generated audio that falsely mimicked Tinubu's voice and made serious claims regarding insecurity in the South East. The audio also included a controversial statement urging Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi to step down.

Onanuga labeled the audio as an egregious abuse of social media, emphasizing that it bore the hallmarks of AI voice cloning technology. He warned that VDM could face legal repercussions for spreading such misinformation.

This incident is part of a growing trend of AI-generated fake content targeting public officials, prompting calls for urgent action from federal security agencies to criminalize AI-generated blackmail and other threats. The federal government has previously warned the public against fake AI-generated advertisements using Tinubu's image, which could lead to sanctions under Nigeria's Cybercrime Prohibition and Prevention Act of 2015, as amended in 2024.