No Aso Rock kitchen staff attempted to poison Tinubu — Presidency

The Presidency has dismissed circulating social media reports alleging that kitchen staff at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa were arrested over an alleged plot to poison President Bola Tinubu.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, took to his official X account on Sunday to share a video of the report and categorically denied it.

The video purportedly shows activity at the presidential villa, accompanied by a voiceover reporting the incident.

It claimed, “Today we examine reports surrounding the shocking arrest of a presidential chef over an alleged plot to poison President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an incident that has prompted swift intervention by a special police squad and triggered heightened security measures within the presidential environment.

“According to preliminary information from security sources, the arrest followed intelligence alerts suggesting suspicious activities connected to food preparation procedures within restricted areas linked to presidential operations.

“Authorities moved quickly after receiving credible reports that indicated a possible threat to the safety of the president, leading to a coordinated investigation involving specialised security personnels tasked with protecting national leadership.

However, Onanuga dismissed the report as baseless fake news.

He wrote, “No Aso Rock kitchen staff arrested. No Aso Rock kitchen staff attempted to poison President Tinubu. Please ignore this fake news being disseminated by this video.”

Authorities have not provided further details on the origin of the misleading video or potential motives behind its circulation.