Media personality Francess Olisa Ogbonnaya has accused Prof. Sandra Duru, popularly known as Prof. Mgbeke, of paying her the sum of N300,000 to manipulate audio recordings against suspended Senator of Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
In an explosive interview with investigative journalist Adeola Fayehun, Ogbonnaya claimed she was approached by Duru during the Easter holidays and paid N300,000 to produce a manipulated audio clip aimed at damaging the Senator’s reputation.
“She sent me a script and asked me to use my voice to narrate it, but I refused to include parts that could not be defended,” Ogbonnaya said. “I couldn’t put myself or my registered company at risk by promoting lies.”
According to Ogbonnaya, the script was intended to falsely portray Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan as someone making inflammatory remarks, including an unsubstantiated claim that she wanted to “bring down the Yoruba government.”
“How do you think Sen. Natasha will bring down the Yoruba government?” she asked during the interview. “A Kogi person is a minority Nigerian. They don’t have alliances like that. Sometimes they are more tilted to the Yorubas. Sometimes, the Igalas are even taken to be Igbos.”
Ogbonnaya said Duru became angry after the final audio edit excluded false claims and demanded a refund. “When I edited out lies, she got upset and said I was sabotaging her plans.”
This development followed controversy that trailed a viral video in which Duru claimed Senator Natasha admitted to fabricating sexual harassment allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The video was met with public skepticism and has now drawn further scrutiny following Ogbonnaya’s revelations.
Ogbonnaya also alleged that Duru had long boasted about her ability to manipulate voices and once sent her a tutorial on voice cloning in 2020. “She once sent me a video on how to clone voices back in 2020,” Ogbonnaya revealed. “So when she came back this year with this plan, it wasn’t new to me.”
To back up her claims, she presented screenshots of WhatsApp conversations, payment receipts, and an alleged script titled “Light Mask: The Politics of Blackmail and Emotional Manipulation” during the interview.
When asked whether Duru acted alone or was politically backed, Ogbonnaya said, “She told me plainly that she was promised a political position if she could pull this off. She said she was once offered deputy governor of Imo State. So maybe she thinks this will bring her back to relevance.”
Fayehun, who conducted the interview, described Ogbonnaya’s decision to come forward as courageous and dangerous. “This is dangerous for her,” she said. “We should be grateful she came out at all. It shows how desperate this entire situation has become.”
Calling Duru a “pathological liar and serial blackmailer,” Ogbonnaya said she is willing to submit her evidence including audio recordings and WhatsApp chats to security agencies, but only on the condition that Duru is present to face the allegations.
Importantly, she clarified that there is no direct evidence linking Senate President Akpabio to the plot. “I don’t have the evidence to say Sandra is working with Akpabio,” she said.
Ogbonnaya, who previously ran for a seat in the Imo State House of Assembly, said she chose to speak out to protect the reputations of both Senator Natasha and Senate President Akpabio, as well as to safeguard public discourse from manipulation.
•Leadership news
