The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its willingness to seek the arrest of the persons behind the fabrication of a fake X account that was claimed to belong to its chairman, Joash Amupitan, after a detailed forensic investigation set the professor free.
This development came weeks after the online controversy that was sparked by viral screenshots alleging that the INEC chairman had an X account with the handle, @joashamupitan, and allegedly made a partisan post, “Victory is sure”, which was alleged to be a response to Dayo Israel, the current national youth leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (ADC).
Photo Credit: @inecnigeria
Source: Twitter
The Punch reported that the allegation escalated after more screenshots went viral on social media, purporting to show the emails, phone numbers, BVN and data breach links, which linked the INEC chairman to the fake account. The allegations were widely shared across different platforms before it was subjected to verification.
Adedayo Oketola, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, in a statement on Monday, April 20, said that the electoral body warned against the spread of unverified content on social media.
INEC-commissioned’s independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation in a comprehensive report indicated that the claims were “fabricated, technically impossible and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.” The report, which relied on the data analysis of the X platform, OSINT tools, timestamp verification, and Internet Archive records, concluded that the chairman of INEC “does not operate any personal X account.”
However, Nigerians have started reacting to the development after it was shared on INEC’s social media page: Below are some of their comments:
Hon Nuhu Sada called for the resignation of the INEC chairman:
“Under Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, INEC is experiencing growing credibility concerns, further heightened by this latest controversy. Beyond the authenticity of the account, the central issue remains public trust in the institution, with calls from some quarters for the Chairman to step aside in order to restore confidence.”
Daniel Regha wrote:
“The past elections conducted so far with AMUPITAN in charge have been far from credible, from the Anambra controversies to the Abuja issues. This alone questions the ability of the INEC to carry out a proper election come 2027. His reported support for Tinubu via X is just the final nail, but prior to this, he’s not fit to even hold that position to begin with.”
Obolo Igbayemi commented:
“The INEC forensic findings involving its chairman, Prof. Amupitan, already hint at what 2027 could look like. If this is the starting point, then 2027 needs serious attention.”
Pst Okezie James Atañi said INEC confirmed his earlier claim:
“I stated it earlier…now INEC has confirmed.”
You can read the full statement on X here:
Source: Legit.ng
