A nine-minute audio recording released by UK/US-based activist Sandra C. Duru , popularly known as Prof. Mgbeke, has gone viral on social media, adding a new layer to the protracted dispute between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In the recording, which Duru described as “just a SNEAK PEEK at what’s coming on Sunday,” she presents what she claims is a private conversation with Akpabio.
According to her accompanying statements and the circulating clip, she alleges the Senate President engaged or hired her to mount a campaign against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Descriptions of the audio circulating online characterize portions as informal discussion in which a male voice (purportedly Akpabio’s) gossips about individuals, political matters, and national issues while repeatedly cautioning the other party not to disclose what was said.
One listener reaction highlighted a segment referencing former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s entry into certain political arrangements linked to a corruption case, and broader comments about opposing figures including Peter Obi. The full context, exact wording, and speakers’ identities remain unverified by independent forensic analysis.
The release, shared widely on social media including by accounts amplifying political commentary, frames the audio as evidence of political maneuvering. Duru has positioned it as part of forthcoming larger revelations. No immediate public response from Akpabio or his office confirming or denying the recording’s authenticity, content, or the hiring claim was available at the time of the audio’s initial circulation on September 18, 2026.
Background to the Dispute
The latest development follows a long-running controversy that intensified in early 2025. Akpoti-Uduaghan had publicly accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, claims he has denied. She was later suspended by the Senate over related procedural matters.
In May 2025, Duru (then more prominently using the Prof. Mgbeke persona) went public with her own allegations against Akpoti-Uduaghan. She claimed the senator had offered her ₦200 million to fabricate or amplify damaging accusations against Akpabio, including organ-harvesting claims, after the original harassment allegations allegedly lacked supporting evidence.
Duru released purported call logs, messages, and audio clips during a lengthy Facebook Live session. Akpoti-Uduaghan denied the claims, stating the materials were manipulated and that Duru was acting according to a script linked to Akpabio.
Subsequent counter-claims emerged. Media personality Francess Olisa Ogbonnaya alleged Duru paid her ₦300,000 to produce or manipulate audio materials targeting Akpoti-Uduaghan, an accusation Duru has not been reported to have fully resolved in public records. Akpoti-Uduaghan also petitioned police, accusing both Akpabio and Duru of orchestrating a defamation campaign.
Authenticity questions have dogged materials from all sides in the feud. Prior recordings have been accused of editing, voice cloning, or selective presentation. Independent verification of the newly released nine-minute audio—including confirmation of all voices, absence of editing, and full conversational context—has not been established.
Political Context
Observers note the timing amid ongoing tensions in Nigerian politics, with references in online discussion to party realignments, opposition figures, and positioning ahead of future electoral cycles. The audio’s informal tone, if authentic, would represent a rare public glimpse into private discussions by one of Nigeria’s highest-ranking officials. Critics of the release have described elements as undignified for the office of Senate President; supporters of Duru frame it as exposing behind-the-scenes political operations.
Duru has a history of high-profile interventions and has previously claimed to submit materials to authorities in Nigeria and abroad. She has teases further disclosures, describing the current clip as only a partial preview.
As of the latest reports, neither Akpabio nor Akpoti-Uduaghan has issued detailed formal responses specifically addressing the September 18 audio’s content. The claims remain allegations pending any confirmation, denial, or forensic examination. The episode underscores persistent challenges around digital recordings, political warfare, and verification in Nigeria’s polarized information environment.
Further developments are expected, particularly with Duru’s promised additional material.
Full explanation of why the audio was leaked:
YESTERDAY’S AUDIO WAS BIGGER THAN AN AUDIO. IT WAS A LESSON ABOUT LEADERSHIP, CHARACTER, TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
Yesterday, I made public an audio recording which I identify as the voice of the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Beyond the noise surrounding it, there is a bigger lesson. Leadership is not merely occupying a powerful office. Leadership is character, discipline, honesty, fairness and understanding that the higher your position, the greater your responsibility to protect people, solve problems and conduct yourself properly.
There is a BIG difference between confidentiality and destroying somebody behind their back. If you sit with me, ridicule another person, make jest of them, speak poorly about them, tell me things that could damage their reputation, then say, “Do not tell them,” while behaving like their friend in their presence, I do not consider that confiding in me. My immediate question becomes: IF YOU CAN DO THIS TO THEM IN FRONT OF ME, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME IN FRONT OF SOMEBODY ELSE?
That was one of the reasons I began questioning many things I was being told. Senator Ned Nwoko’s situation particularly bothered me because, whatever anyone thinks about the politics surrounding him, he publicly stood with Akpabio during one of his most difficult periods. It taught me an important lesson: watch carefully how people treat those who once stood for them, especially when political interests change.
Now to the controversy about recordings. We cannot celebrate a recording when it appears to expose someone we dislike, then suddenly declare another recording sacred because it raises uncomfortable questions about someone we support. ONE STANDARD, PLEASE. The intelligent questions should be: Is the recording authentic? What is the complete context? What does it establish? What requires further investigation? What can lawfully be disclosed in the public interest?
I document and preserve important communications for my own protection. I refuse to wake up tomorrow fighting a battle of “Sandra said” and “somebody said.” Documentation protects the truth. At the same time, recording a conversation and publishing it may raise different legal questions involving privacy, consent, evidence, defamation and public interest. That caution applies to everybody, including me.
This has never been about loving Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan or hating Akpabio. I neither need to love nor hate anybody to demand ONE STANDARD. When allegations as serious as murder, human organ harvesting, human organ trafficking, fabricated recordings, voice cloning, threats or other criminal wrongdoing are brought to law enforcement, politics and friendship should take the back seat. INVESTIGATE. ESTABLISH THE FACTS. PROSECUTE WHERE THE EVIDENCE AND LAW JUSTIFY IT. CLEAR PEOPLE WHERE THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT THE ALLEGATIONS.
That was why I reported what was brought to me. I was not going to sit inside my house and determine whether allegations of murder or organ trafficking were true. That is the responsibility of competent authorities. The same principle must apply to allegations made against me. If forensic examination and official investigations established that I did not clone, fabricate or artificially generate anybody’s voice, then the public record should accurately reflect that. Nobody should be allowed to destroy another person’s reputation because a convenient political narrative requires a scapegoat.
I also continue to seek a proper explanation for statements allegedly made to me suggesting that the police were “avoiding” another person while discussing compensation and everybody moving on. If those words were spoken, what exactly did they mean within the context of the investigation? Avoiding anybody should never replace investigation, evidence and due process.
This is bigger than Sandra Duru, Natasha, Akpabio or Ned Nwoko. It is about a political culture where people destroy one another privately, embrace publicly, gossip about their supposed friends, play divide and conquer, then expect everybody else to choose sides when everything explodes. I DO NOT OPERATE LIKE THAT. Bring me truth, not gossip. Bring me solutions, not character assassination. Bring me evidence, not manipulation. Bring me honesty, not divide and conquer.
One lesson should remain with everyone reading this: NEVER JUDGE SOMEBODY’S CHARACTER ONLY BY HOW THEY TREAT YOU IN YOUR PRESENCE. WATCH HOW THEY TREAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ABSENT AND CANNOT DEFEND THEMSELVES.
One day, you may become the absent person.
POWER DOES NOT REDUCE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, IT MAGNIFIES IT. So, I stand for evidence, due process and institutional accountability. Anything I say or allege should also be capable of independent examination.
TRUTH DOES NOT NEED A POLITICAL TEAM.
Prof. Mgbeke
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