Presidential aide on social media, Dada Olusegun, has publicly rebuked popular content creator and comedian Nasboi for sharing an online video he described as misleading and capable of inciting fear among Nigerians.

Olusegun, who serves as Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, took to his X handle to fault Nasboi’s decision to post the footage with a caption directly addressing the president. The video shows armed men on motorcycles storming a dusty rural community in a coordinated raid, evoking imagery associated with terrorist operations in parts of West Africa.

According to Olusegun, the clip did not originate from Nigeria and was misrepresented by the comedian. He said the footage was lifted from a page that had clearly identified the men as terrorists from the Republic of Benin, not Nigeria. By stripping the original context and tying the video to President Tinubu, Olusegun argued, Nasboi risked heightening public anxiety and distorting the security narrative.

“You cannot continue to intentionally use your page to spread fear @iamnasboi for whatever reason you might think you have,” the aide wrote, insisting that the material was “fake footage” in relation to Nigeria. He described the act as “the highest form of irresponsibility” and urged the entertainer to “do better.”

Olusegun did not disclose when the original video was recorded or first circulated, but his intervention underscores growing concern within government circles over the viral spread of unverified security content on social media. Nigeria has grappled with years of insurgency and banditry, and videos purporting to show fresh attacks often trigger panic before they can be authenticated.

While militant groups in North-East Nigeria and across the Sahel have previously released similar propaganda videos, independent verification of the specific clip shared by Nasboi remains elusive. However, recent reports from the region indicate that Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for an assault on Beninese military positions near the Burkina Faso border, releasing footage of the operation and boasting of casualties and seized weapons.

The clash between Olusegun and Nasboi highlights a broader tension between digital influencers seeking to comment on governance and security, and officials who insist that such commentary must be grounded in verified information to avoid fuelling fear or misinformation.