INEC Clears Chairman of Fake Social Media Account

The Independent National Electoral Commission announced on Monday that a forensic cybersecurity investigation has cleared its Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, of any connection to a social media account falsely attributed to him, labeling viral posts as part of a coordinated impersonation effort. The controversy, which erupted on April 10, 2026, in Abuja, involved screenshots circulating on X, formerly Twitter, claiming Amupitan operated the handle @joashamupitan and replied "Victory is sure" to a post by user @dayoisreal, suggesting partisan support for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

INEC commissioned an independent expert to conduct a multilayered probe using platform data, open-source intelligence tools, internet archive records, and cross-platform analysis. The findings, described by the commission as comprehensive and unambiguous, concluded that Amupitan maintains no personal X account and that the alleged posts were fabricated. A critical inconsistency emerged in the timestamps: the purported reply was dated 4:05 p.m., 13 minutes before the original post at 4:18 p.m., rendering it technically impossible on any digital platform.