INEC Probes itself, clears Chairman Amupitan Of Partisan Social Media Posts
The Independent National Electoral Commission says that a forensic probe panel it set up to probe it's Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan has exonerated him, and cleared him of all allegations of operating a fake X account.
The Independent National Electoral Commission says that a forensic probe panel it set up to probe it's Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan has exonerated him, and cleared him of all allegations of operating a fake X account.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, spoke on Monday warning against spreading unverified social media content.
INEC also, noted that it would
pursue the arrest of individuals behind the alleged fabrication of a fake X (formerly Twitter) account linked to its Chairman, following alleged detailed forensic investigation which reportedly exonerated him.
"This (exornoration) follows weeks of online controversy sparked by viral screenshots claiming the INEC chairman operated an X account (@joashamupitan) and made a partisan post, “Victory is sure,” purportedly in response to another user," INEC noted.
INEC further stated that "the allegations escalated after additional screenshots circulated on social media, purporting to show emails, phone numbers, BVN records and data breach links tying the professor to the account, claims that were widely shared across platforms before being subjected to verification."
Oketola further said that a comprehensive independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation commissioned by the organization, proved that the claims were “fabricated, technically impossible and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign,” adding that the alleged X platform data analysis, OSINT tools, internet archive records and timestamp verification, did not show that Prof. Amupitan did "operate any personal X account.”
INEC further stated that "the allegations escalated after additional screenshots circulated on social media, purporting to show emails, phone numbers, BVN records and data breach links tying the professor to the account, claims that were widely shared across platforms before being subjected to verification."
Oketola further said that a comprehensive independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation commissioned by the organization, proved that the claims were “fabricated, technically impossible and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign,” adding that the alleged X platform data analysis, OSINT tools, internet archive records and timestamp verification, did not show that Prof. Amupitan did "operate any personal X account.”
It was further stated that, “The X account attributed to Prof. Amupitan is a clear case of impersonation. All alleged posts, replies or statements linked to him are fraudulent and unverifiable.”
According to INEC, the report stated, “The alleged reply ‘Victory is sure’ was posted 13 minutes before the original post it responded to. This is physically impossible on any digital platform,”
even as investigations also confirmed that the supposed reply does not exist on the live X platform or in any archived version, adding,”The reply has never existed on X. It is absent from both live threads and historical records.”
“The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) reportedly showed no trace of the account or any activity attributed to it before April 2026," the INEC further pointed out, describing the report as a “deliberate impersonation pattern.”
According to INEC, the report stated, “The alleged reply ‘Victory is sure’ was posted 13 minutes before the original post it responded to. This is physically impossible on any digital platform,”
even as investigations also confirmed that the supposed reply does not exist on the live X platform or in any archived version, adding,”The reply has never existed on X. It is absent from both live threads and historical records.”
“The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) reportedly showed no trace of the account or any activity attributed to it before April 2026," the INEC further pointed out, describing the report as a “deliberate impersonation pattern.”
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