Pat Stevens/
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims that a social media account on X belongs to Prof. Joash Amupitan, describing it as fake and part of what it called a coordinated impersonation and disinformation campaign.
The clarification was issued from the office of the INEC Chairman and signed by Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman.
INEC stated that Amupitan does not operate any personal account on X and has never engaged in partisan commentary or political expression on any social media platform.
It said the viral screenshot purporting to show him replying “Victory is sure” was fabricated, noting that technical analysis revealed the reply allegedly appeared before the original post it responded to, an inconsistency the Commission described as proof of manipulation.
The Commission further disclosed that there is no trace of the account in major digital archives such as the Wayback Machine prior to April 2026, suggesting it was either recently created or altered.
It also said the account displayed suspicious behaviour, including renaming and switching to private mode shortly after the screenshots circulated online, alongside a “parody account” label that INEC said appeared to be an attempt to obscure its origin.
INEC added that verification attempts found no linkage between the account and Amupitan’s known email, phone number, or other identifiers, stressing that financial identity systems such as BVN or payment platforms cannot establish ownership of social media accounts.
It also revealed that at least seven additional fake accounts using his name and image had been discovered across Facebook and Instagram, describing the situation as a coordinated impersonation effort.
The Commission urged the public to disregard unverified screenshots and rely only on official INEC communication channels, warning against the spread of manipulated content capable of undermining public trust in electoral institutions.
The Commission has increasingly issued public denials of fake online activity attributed to its chairman, with officials reiterating that he maintains no personal presence on X.
Security and ICT officials within INEC have also highlighted ongoing collaboration with cybercrime units to track impersonation networks targeting the Commission’s leadership and to prosecute those responsible under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.
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