𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐀𝐦𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐗 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 — 𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐂

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the findings of a comprehensive independent forensic investigation which conclusively establishes that the social media account at the centre of a recent partisan controversy linked to its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, was a sophisticated fabrication.

In a detailed public statement issued on Monday, the Commission disclosed that a multi-layered digital probe uncovered “physically impossible” timestamp discrepancies, a complete absence of archived records, and a deliberate pattern of identity obfuscation, confirming that the account was part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.

The controversy began on April 10, 2026, when screenshots began circulating widely on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. The images showed an account bearing the handle @joashamupitan allegedly posting a reply to a 2023 post by APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel.

The alleged reply from the account, which read “Victory is sure,” was quickly interpreted by critics as a sign of partisan bias on the part of the INEC Chairman, suggesting support for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The post went viral within hours, generating thousands of shares and sparking heated debate across traditional and online media. Shortly after, additional screenshots surfaced online showing emails, phone numbers, OPay and BVN verification data, and data breach records which were widely shared as corroborating proof that the account belonged to Prof. Amupitan.

Within hours of the posts going viral, the Commission moved swiftly to deny the allegations. In an initial statement on April 10, INEC described the claims as “entirely baseless, a total fabrication, and a figment of the imagination of its purveyors.”

The Commission also noted that the Chairman had previously warned about the dangers of digital manipulation. Speaking at the 81st Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Prof. Amupitan had cautioned that in future elections, “the most dangerous weapon will not be a ballot-snatcher’s gun, but a smartphone user’s lie amplified by uncritical media outlets.”

Following the initial denial, INEC engaged an independent forensic cybersecurity expert to conduct a thorough digital investigation. The probe utilized X platform data, internet archive records, open-source intelligence tools, identity forensics, and cross-platform analysis.

The most damning piece of evidence against the authenticity of the post was a timestamp analysis. Forensic verification established that the original post by @dayoisreal was published at 15:18:20 GMT, which is 4:18 PM Nigeria time, on its original date in 2023. However, the alleged reply from @joashamupitan, “Victory is sure,” was found to be timestamped 13 minutes before the original post existed.

INEC stated that no platform can receive a reply before the original post is published, describing this as physically impossible and the greatest proof that the post and the account were doctored using artificial intelligence.

Investigators also queried the Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive’s digital record of web pages. If the @joashamupitan account had been active since September 2022, as alleged, at least some archived record of its activity would be expected.

The search returned no results, with INEC reporting no archived profile, no archived posts, and no trace of any account activity before April 10, 2026. The investigation further noted a highly suspicious sequence of events on the very day the screenshots went viral.

On April 10, 2026, the account @joashamupitan was rapidly renamed to @sundayvibe00, set to private mode concealing its entire post history, and retroactively labelled as a “Parody Account.”

INEC described this as a damage-control tactic by an impersonator seeking to eliminate a digital trail, noting that the self-application of the parody label constitutes an implicit admission that the account was never Prof. Amupitan’s genuine personal account.

Contrary to claims made in the viral screenshots, forensic attempts to link the X account to Prof. Amupitan’s known Yahoo email or phone number using X’s official account recovery flows all failed, as the platform did not recognize any connection.

INEC clarified that while a phone number may appear in a BVN record associated with the Chairman, it does not in any technical sense connect the phone number to the X account, adding that the public conclusion that because this phone number is his, therefore this X account belongs to him is a logical fallacy, not forensic proof.

The investigation also identified a broader pattern of impersonation beyond the single X account, as at least seven fake Facebook and Instagram accounts using variations of Prof. Amupitan’s name and profile photographs were found, some dating back to 2018, years before his appointment as INEC Chairman in October 2025.

The Commission has now formally referred the independent forensic report to law enforcement agencies for necessary action.

INEC is calling for the prosecution of those responsible under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, which criminalizes identity theft, digital forgery, and the dissemination of manipulated electronic content.

The Commission stated that law enforcement agencies should move swiftly to trace the origin of the fabricated screenshots, identify the individuals responsible for creating and operating the @joashamupitan account, and prosecute them. INEC has reiterated that Prof. Amupitan does not operate any personal account on X and that all official communications will continue to be issued exclusively through the Commission’s verified institutional channels, including its official X account @inecnigeria, its official website, and formal press statements issued from the INEC National Headquarters in Abuja.