ARCON Warns Nigerians Against Fake AI-Generated Naira Refinery Investment Ads
Oru Leonard
The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has warned Nigerians against a fake, AI-generated investment advertisement circulating on Facebook, which allegedly uses the images of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
ARCON, in a statement dated September 15, 2026, said the advertisement promotes a purported “Naira Refinery Investment Fund” and makes unrealistic promises of investment returns in an attempt to mislead and defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
The Council stressed that the purported Naira Refinery Investment Fund is not the same as the Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offering (IPO) currently being undertaken in the Nigerian capital market.
According to ARCON, preliminary investigations indicate that the advertisement is computer/AI-generated and was designed to deceive members of the public.
It further stated that President Tinubu, Oyedele and Dangote neither modelled for the advertisement nor authorised the use of their images to promote the purported investment fund.
ARCON also disclosed that the advertisement was not submitted for vetting and approval by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP), as required under the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.
The Council explained that the Federal Government’s pre-exposure vetting policy is intended to ensure that advertisements are decent, truthful, legal and socially responsible, while preventing misinformation, disinformation and unsubstantiated claims.
ARCON said it would take necessary steps, including legal action, against platform owners, advertisers and advertising agencies involved in exposing unethical advertisements.
It also announced the deployment of a special monitoring and enforcement task force to track advertisements across various platforms and swiftly identify and flag non-compliant advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market.
The Council urged Nigerians to assist its monitoring efforts by reporting advertisements that appear deceptive, unethical, illegal or contain unrealistic claims and promises.
“The era of false and misleading advertising, advertisement and marketing communication is over,” ARCON said, calling on stakeholders and advertising practitioners to recommit themselves to responsible advertising.
Members of the public can report suspected deceptive advertisements to ARCON’s complaint desk on 0805 089 9900.
The statement was signed by Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, FCA, FNIMN, FNIPR, FRPA, Director-General, ARCON.
