The Action Collective (AC) has called on Mr. Ken Okolugbo, the Communication Adviser to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, to take full responsibility for the now-deleted confessional statement he made on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, where he admitted to being part of a coordinated plan to malign Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In a statement signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Mr. Teddy Onyejuwe, Action Collective said Okolugbo’s subsequent claim that his account was hacked was insufficient and lacked credibility.
The controversial post, which remained live for over an hour before it was pulled down, included an emotional apology, a detailed confession of involvement in meetings in London with Sandra Duru, and allegations of phone cloning and manipulation of Senator Natasha’s voice recordings. Okolugbo wrote that the plan, orchestrated alongside Akpabio and his associates, was a desperate attempt to discredit the embattled female Senator representing Kogi Central. He further pleaded for forgiveness in the spirit of the Eid-El-Kabir celebration and wished Nigerians a happy Sallah before deleting the post and claiming a hack.
The Action Collective, however, raised serious doubts about the hacking narrative, asking how a compromised account could be recovered in under two hours and why the post was left active for over an hour if it was indeed unauthorised. “You must prove your innocence. Denial is not enough. Nigerians need more than vague excuses. Where is the evidence that your account was hacked? Why did it take someone else to alert you before you took action?” the group queried.
Onyejuwe suggested that Okolugbo may have been pressured by higher political powers to retract his confession and hide behind a hacking claim. “This reeks of political intimidation. Your confession was detailed, personal, and reflective. It bore the weight of someone seeking redemption, not a random attacker. If you were bold enough to admit your role, be man enough to stand by your words and move on with integrity,” he stated.
The group also noted the danger of using cybersecurity claims to avoid accountability, warning that such tactics erode public trust and trivialise genuine issues of digital security. “If the post was genuine, and we believe it was, you owe it to Nigerians and Senator Natasha to be truthful. If it was not, then prove it conclusively. Anything less is unacceptable,” the statement continued.
Action Collective concluded by reaffirming its solidarity with the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and called on relevant authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly. “Mr. Okolugbo must either present irrefutable evidence to support his claim or be prepared to answer to the public. The truth must not be buried under political pressure or digital excuses,” the statement added.
