The Presidency on Sunday dismissed as false a viral social media report alleging that a kitchen staff member at the Presidential Villa was arrested over a plot to poison President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The claim, which spread through a widely shared video, suggested that a presidential chef had been taken into custody following intelligence reports of suspicious activities linked to food preparation within restricted areas of Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
According to the video’s narration, security agencies allegedly acted on “credible intelligence,” prompting a swift intervention by a special police squad and heightened security around the president. It further claimed that the suspect was arrested discreetly to avoid public panic while investigations were underway.
Reacting to the report, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the story as baseless and urged Nigerians to disregard it.
In a post shared on his official X account, Onanuga stated unequivocally: “No Aso Rock kitchen staff arrested. No Aso Rock kitchen staff attempted to poison President Tinubu. Please ignore this fake news being disseminated by this video.”
The Presidency has not provided further information about the origin of the video or the motives behind its circulation, but maintained that the allegations are entirely unfounded.
The rebuttal comes amid growing concerns over the spread of misinformation on social media, particularly stories involving high-profile public officials and national security.
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