Family begs Elumelu to forgive teen arrested over false post
The family of 18-year-old UTME candidate Kingsley Akunemeihe has appealed to businessman Tony Elumelu to withdraw his complaint following the teenager’s arrest over a viral social media post alleging that
The family of 18-year-old UTME candidate Kingsley Akunemeihe has appealed to businessman Tony Elumelu to withdraw his complaint following the teenager’s arrest over a viral social media post alleging that Elumelu divorced his wife.
Kingsley was arrested on April 18 while returning from his JAMB examination, according to his sister, Ngozi Akunemeihe, who disclosed the development in a video shared online.
She said he has been detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department for more than a week.
“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 stated that her brother did not originate the post but reshared it from another account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
She added that he deleted the post and issued an apology after other users flagged it as false and defamatory.
“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,” she said.
She added that the teenager later realised the post was false and took responsibility by deleting it and issuing an apology on his platform.
“He acknowledged he did something wrong and apologised for it. His apology posts are still there on his handle,” she said.
Despite the apology, Kingsley was arrested about 10 days later. His sister pleaded with Elumelu to consider his age and remorse.
“He has been detained for over a week now. 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,” she said.
“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 added.
United Bank for Africa, where Elumelu serves as Chairman, had earlier described the divorce claim as “false, defamatory, and malicious.”
The bank confirmed that security agencies were notified and arrests had been made.
In its statement, United Bank for Africa said, “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. We confirm that three individuals directly connected to the creation and dissemination of these malicious falsehoods have been arrested," it said.
The arrests have sparked debate online about defamation, free expression, and police involvement in social media disputes.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore urged the Nigeria Police Force to free the detainees, saying the case is a civil matter, not a criminal one.
