The family of 18-year-old Kingsley Akunemeihe has appealed to billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu to forgive him after he was arrested for sharing a false social media post claiming that the banker had divorced his wife, Awele Elumelu.
By Rejoice Peterside
The family of an 18-year-old social media user and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidate, Kingsley Akunemeihe, has appealed to billionaire businessman and Chairman of the United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, to forgive their son following his arrest over a viral post falsely claiming that he had divorced his wife, Awele Elumelu.
The appeal was made public on Sunday through an emotional video shared on Instagram by the suspect’s elder sister, Ngozi Akunemeihe, who pleaded for mercy and asked the businessman to withdraw the complaint against her younger brother.
According to her, Kingsley was arrested shortly after writing his Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination and has remained in detention since then.
She explained that the teenager had shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, alleging that Elumelu had divorced his wife, a claim later described by the family as false and defamatory.
“Mr Tony Elumelu got the police to arrest my 18-year-old younger brother, Kingsley Chinanu Akunemeihe. He was arrested on Saturday, April 18. He was coming back from his JAMB exam when he was arrested and never got home,” she said.
Ngozi stated that the controversial post was not originally created by her brother, but was copied from another social media account and reposted without proper verification.
According to her, after sharing the post, people quickly informed him that the information was false and damaging.
She said Kingsley immediately acknowledged his mistake, deleted the post, and issued a public apology on his page.
“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 explained.
“He acknowledged he did something wrong and apologised for it. His apology posts are still there on his handle.”
Despite the apology, she said he was arrested about 10 days later and taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department, where he has remained in custody for over a week.
In her appeal, Ngozi urged Elumelu to consider her brother’s age and inexperience, describing the incident as a youthful mistake made out of ignorance rather than malice.
“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.
She added that the detention had already served as a painful lesson and pleaded for his release so he could return home and continue his education.
“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.
The arrest is part of a wider controversy involving the circulation of false claims on social media alleging that Elumelu and his wife had ended their marriage.
The United Bank for Africa had earlier released a statement dismissing the report as false, malicious, and defamatory, insisting that it was deliberately designed to mislead the public and damage the reputation of the businessman and his family.
“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 bank stated.
UBA also confirmed that security agencies had been notified and that three individuals linked to the creation and spread of the false information had already been arrested.
“We confirm that three individuals directly connected to the creation and dissemination of these malicious falsehoods have been arrested,” the statement added.
The development has sparked widespread reactions across social media, with many Nigerians debating the limits of free speech, defamation laws, and whether criminal prosecution should apply in online misinformation cases.
Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has also weighed in on the matter, calling on the Nigeria Police Force to release the suspects and arguing that the issue should be treated as a civil matter rather than a criminal offence.
The case continues to generate national attention as public opinion remains divided between calls for accountability over false information and demands for leniency considering the age and remorse shown by the suspect.
