The family of 18-year-old Kingsley Akunemeihe has appealed to businessman Tony Elumelu to forgive the teenager following his arrest over a viral social media post.

Kingsley, who was sitting for his JAMB exams, was arrested on April 18. His arrest followed a post on X (formerly Twitter) which falsely claimed that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Chairman had divorced his wife.

The suspect's sister, Ngozi Akunemeihe, revealed in a video online that her brother has been in police custody for over a week. She explained that Kingsley did not start the rumour but only reshared it from another account.

According to her, when the teenager realised the news was fake, he deleted the post and posted an apology on his page.

"He acknowledged he did something wrong and apologised for it. I am begging you, sir, please forgive him. He is just 18 and acted out of ignorance," Ngozi pleaded.

UBA Group had earlier released a statement describing the divorce claim as false and malicious." The bank confirmed that security agencies were alerted, leading to the arrest of three people linked to the post.

The family is now hoping for a peaceful resolution so that the teenager can return home.