The media office of former Ogun State Governor and Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has rejected a viral audio recording allegedly linking him to a private conversation, describing it as a “manipulated and deliberately doctored material” circulated to blackmail and damage his reputation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the OGD Media Office, Daniel’s handlers said they became aware of the recording more than six weeks ago after those behind it allegedly attempted to use it for political blackmail and intimidation.
“The OGD Media Office has been inundated with enquiries regarding a purportedly leaked private conversation allegedly involving His Excellency, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, and a respected elder statesman,” the statement said.
According to the media office, “this Office became aware of the existence of the audio over six weeks ago, following attempts by its purveyors to deploy the maliciously doctored recording as an instrument of political blackmail, coercion, intimidation, and other criminal ends.”
The statement maintained that the audio currently circulating online “is a manipulated and deliberately doctored material, calculated to mislead the public, malign the reputation of His Excellency, and advance a premeditated political agenda.”
Daniel’s media office disclosed that security agencies had been formally petitioned to investigate the source of the recording, those allegedly responsible for manipulating and circulating it, and the motives behind its release.
“Accordingly, the appropriate law enforcement agencies have been formally invited to investigate the source of the recording, those responsible for its manipulation and dissemination, and the criminal motives behind its circulation,” the statement added.
The former governor’s legal team has also been directed to pursue both civil and criminal remedies against individuals or groups connected with what the statement described as an orchestrated smear campaign.
“In addition, our legal team has been instructed to pursue all available civil and criminal remedies against every individual or group connected with this orchestrated campaign of calumny, defamation, malicious falsehood, and cybercrime,” it said.
The statement concluded with a call for an end to the use of fabricated materials in Nigeria’s political space, declaring: “This shenanigans must stop in our body politics.”
The controversy comes amid heightened political activity in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 election cycle, with political actors increasingly trading accusations and counter-accusations. As of the time of filing this report, no law enforcement agency had publicly commented on the petition, while the authenticity of the circulating audio has not been independently verified.
