The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed its support for its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, stating that a forensic investigation has confirmed that viral social media posts attributed to him were fabricated.
According to the commission, the independent forensic report established that Amupitan does not operate any personal account on X (formerly Twitter). It described the alleged posts as fraudulent, unverifiable, and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
In a statement issued by the Chairman’s Chief Press Secretary, Adedayo Oketola, INEC maintained that its Chairman has no presence on any social media platform. Both internal reviews and external forensic checks reportedly confirmed this position.
The commission explained that Amupitan had earlier debunked the claims through an official statement, clearly denying ownership or use of any X account.
Further analysis revealed inconsistencies in the viral content, including a timestamp anomaly showing that a supposed reply credited to the Chairman was posted 13 minutes before the original message it responded to—something INEC described as technically impossible on any digital platform.
INEC also dismissed claims linking the account to Amupitan through email, phone number, or financial records, noting that verification attempts on X found no connection. It added that the appearance of a phone number in BVN or OPay records does not prove ownership of a social media account.
The commission disclosed that the investigation uncovered multiple fake accounts impersonating the Chairman, including at least seven on Facebook and Instagram. It also noted that the X account at the center of the controversy was later renamed, made private, and labeled as a parody account shortly after the posts went viral—suggesting deliberate impersonation.
INEC said the findings have been forwarded to security agencies for further investigation and urged Nigerians to avoid sharing or engaging with the misleading content.