Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday jokingly revisited the viral video that purportedly showed man massaging a woman’s leg aboard a private jet, saying the Senate initially ignored the footage because it believed it was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaking during Thursday’s plenary in a video shared by AIT, Akpabio said, “I don’t want to go outside of what we are doing… I would have asked a question when there was a picture showing one of our senators in a plane, massaging the leg of a girl.”
The comment drew laughter from lawmakers, including Akpabio.
“Senator Oshiomhole, your friend, your very good friend Senator Lalong came to give me security information. He said that we just ignored the message because we thought it was AI,” Akpabio said.
He added that the Senate could still examine the matter if fresh evidence emerged.
“But if you have another evidence, we have a petition before us, we can look into it if it’s not AI,” he said.
Akpabio’s remarks referenced a video that went viral in early February 2026, appearing to show a man who looks like the senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, seated in what looked like a private jet while a woman rested her legs on his lap as he appeared to touch or massage them.
The footage sparked widespread backlash and mockery amid Nigeria’s economic challenges, with critics questioning the optics for a serving public official. Some also linked the controversy to Oshiomhole’s comments on food prices at the time.
Responding to the viral clip, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, through his media aide, Oseni Momodu, denied its authenticity, describing it as a poorly crafted, AI-generated, and fabricated video intended to blackmail and embarrass him. His camp condemned its circulation as cyberbullying, urged the public to verify online content before sharing it, and said efforts were underway to identify those responsible.
Although Oshiomhole maintained that the footage was fabricated, his camp did not provide independent forensic evidence to support the AI claim, while some fact-checks questioned whether the video showed clear signs of manipulation.
