Forgive my brother, he acted out of ignorance — sister begs Elumelu over divorce post

The family of an 18-year-old UTME candidate arrested over a viral post falsely claiming that billionaire banker Tony Elumelu had divorced his wife has appealed to the UBA Chairman to forgive the teenager and withdraw the complaint that led to his detention.

In a video posted on Instagram on Sunday, the suspect’s sister, Ngozi Akunemeihe, said her younger brother, Kingsley Chinanu Akunemeihe, was arrested on April 18 while returning home after sitting his JAMB examination and has remained in custody at the State Criminal Investigation Department ever since.

“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 said her brother did not originate the post but reshared it from another user’s page on X, formerly Twitter.

She added that after others drew his attention to the false and defamatory nature of the content, he deleted it and issued a public apology.

“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.

“He acknowledged he did something wrong and apologised for it. His apology posts are still there on his handle.”

Despite the apology, she said the teenager was arrested approximately ten days later and has been held for over a week. In an emotional plea, Ngozi urged Elumelu to consider the young man’s age and show mercy.

“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.”

The case forms part of a broader controversy surrounding the circulation of the false divorce claim.

The United Bank for Africa, where Elumelu serves as Chairman, had earlier dismissed the report as “false, defamatory, and malicious,” saying it was designed to mislead the public and damage reputations.

The bank confirmed it had notified security agencies, leading to the arrest of three individuals connected to the creation and dissemination of the content.

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has separately called on the Nigeria Police Force to release all those detained, arguing the matter falls within the domain of civil law and does not warrant criminal prosecution.