Lagos clout chaser, Onyinyechi Nwachukwu, known as Ela, sparked controversy after leaking a conversation with Lagos Information Commissioner Gbenga Omotosho over the BRT system, triggering public backlash and debate.
A social media drama involving a Lagos based content creator and a top government official has stirred debate online, raising questions about misinformation, clout chasing and the power of viral content.
At the centre of the controversy is Onyinyechi Nwachukwu, an Anambra born content creator who recently gained online attention for posting videos highlighting delays and operational challenges within the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit system.
Her videos, which attracted thousands of reactions across social media platforms, painted a picture of frustration among commuters using the Lagos BRT service.
However, the controversy took a dramatic turn when the skit maker leaked part of a private conversation she had with the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho.
The leaked audio clip quickly went viral.
In the recording, Omotosho was heard reassuring the skit maker and promising that authorities would ensure her safety if she felt threatened while documenting activities at BRT terminals.
“If they’re against you, and they’re trying to harass you. Maybe they think they’re defending the government. Now, when they see the government beside you, they’ll know that you’ve not done anything wrong,” Omotosho said in the clip.
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Shortly after releasing the audio, Nwachukwu posted what many described as a victory video, claiming she had successfully forced authorities to respond to the issues she raised.
The move triggered a wave of backlash against the commissioner, with critics accusing him of appearing to side with individuals allegedly using social media to discredit the Lagos transport system.
But Omotosho has strongly pushed back against the narrative.
Speaking during an interview, the commissioner insisted that the leaked recording presented only a fragment of a longer conversation and had been taken out of context.
He explained that he first heard about the issue while travelling to Badagry for an official project commissioning when a reporter called his attention to the online uproar surrounding what had been described as a “BRT girl” facing harassment.
According to him, the reporter claimed the young woman said she was being threatened and could be attacked at a BRT terminal.
“I asked why would they beat her up,” Omotosho recalled. “The reporter said there were no buses. I told him come off it. If there are no buses, how are people moving around? I even took BRT yesterday afternoon and I didn’t see any problem.”
Omotosho said he advised that if the woman had genuinely been assaulted, she should report the matter to the police, while assuring the reporter that he would investigate the situation after returning from his assignment.
However, the situation escalated when the reporter allegedly published a story suggesting that the commissioner had dismissed the issue and told the woman to “go to hell”.
The commissioner described the report as shocking and misleading.
“What kind of story is that?” he said. “I’m a reporter myself and I will not publish that kind of trash.”
Omotosho said he immediately contacted the journalist to challenge the publication, insisting that his comments had been misrepresented.
According to him, the reporter later apologised and admitted fault.
Soon afterwards, Omotosho said he received advice from several people urging him to personally call the content creator to reassure her that Lagos transport officials do not condone harassment of commuters or content creators.
He said he complied with the advice and contacted Nwachukwu.
“And I told her nobody dares harass you and I will join you to ensure that nobody gets harassed for making videos, because we don’t train our officers to harass people,” he said.
What the commissioner did not realise at the time, however, was that the conversation was being secretly recorded.
Only a small portion of the call later surfaced online.
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Omotosho said the short clip was edited and shared in a way that suggested the government had capitulated to pressure from the content creator.
“That was about a second of what I said, and she used it to declare victory for her campaign,” he said.
According to the commissioner, the skit maker later reached out to apologise for leaking the conversation and presenting it out of context.
Listen to the full interview below.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
