Family begs Elumelu to forgive teen arrested over divorce rumour

By Enitan Abdultawab

The sister of 18-year-old social media user and UTME candidate, Kingsley Akunemeihe, has appealed to billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu to forgive her brother following his arrest over a viral post alleging that the entrepreneur had divorced his wife.

In an emotional video shared on Instagram, Ngozi Akunemeihe said her younger brother was arrested shortly after writing his JAMB examination.

According to her, the teenager reposted a claim on X, formerly Twitter, alleging that Elumelu had separated from his wife, Awele Elumelu, without knowing the information was false.

“Mr Tony Elumelu got the police to arrest my 18-year-old younger brother, Kingsley Chinanu Akunemeihe. He was arrested on Saturday, 18 April. He was coming back from his JAMB exam when he was arrested and never got home,” she said.

Ngozi explained that her brother later realised the post was false after other users called his attention to it and immediately apologised online.

“He said he got it from another person’s handle and shared it with others. After sharing it, people called his attention that the post is fake and defamatory. He acknowledged he did something wrong and apologised for it. His apology posts are still there on his handle. He has now been detained for ten days now,” she added.

The visibly emotional sister pleaded with Elumelu to show compassion and withdraw the complaint against the teenager.

“I am begging you sir, please forgive him. He is just 18. I know people may say he is an adult, but he is still a teenager who acted out of ignorance. He realised that what he did was not okay and he has apologised. I am begging you to withdraw the complaint so that he can come back home,” she pleaded.

Reacting earlier through United Bank for Africa, the businessman dismissed the claim as malicious and defamatory.

“The attention of UBA Group has been drawn to a false, defamatory, and malicious publication currently circulating on social media platforms, falsely alleging that the Group Chairman, Mr Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, has divorced his wife,” the statement read.

“We confirm that three individuals directly connected to the creation and dissemination of these malicious falsehoods have been arrested,” it added.

However, several Nigerians have reacted to this sister’s apology video. Some tweeps dug up old tweets from the teenager and accused him of being a famous purveyor of false information.

Old tweets revealed that the teenager, with the username @Lopperkem, once alleged that popular musician Kizz Daniel had lost his twin boys and had to go offline for months. Another tweet showed that the alleged popular singer Skales was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for obtaining money under false pretence.

Another tweet showed that he alleged that EFFC had placed a bounty on skitmaker Sabinus on grounds of cases related to fraud.

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