The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, of allegations linking him to a controversial social media account, following a detailed forensic investigation.
The commission also disclosed plans to track down and prosecute those behind what it described as a coordinated impersonation and disinformation campaign.
The controversy had erupted weeks ago after viral screenshots claimed that Amupitan operated an account on X (formerly Twitter) and made a partisan comment, “Victory is sure.” The claims gained traction online, with additional posts alleging links between the account and the chairman through email addresses, phone numbers and even Bank Verification Number records.
However, in a statement issued on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, the commission said the allegations were entirely false and fabricated.
According to INEC, findings from an independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation showed that the account in question had no connection whatsoever to Amupitan.
“The claims are fabricated, technically impossible and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign,” the commission stated.
The investigation, which involved analysis of X platform data, open-source intelligence tools and internet archive records, found that the chairman does not operate any personal account on the platform.
One of the key discoveries was that the alleged reply attributed to Amupitan appeared to have been posted 13 minutes before the original message it was said to respond to — a scenario investigators described as impossible on any digital platform.
Further checks also revealed that the controversial post never existed on the live platform or in any archived records.
INEC added that the account, initially created in September 2022, was later renamed and marked as a parody account shortly after the screenshots went viral, a move investigators said suggested an attempt to cover tracks.
The probe also uncovered several other fake accounts across social media platforms, pointing to what it described as a broader, coordinated impersonation effort.
The commission dismissed claims linking the account to the chairman’s personal details, noting that there was no verifiable connection between the account and any of his known email addresses, phone numbers or official records.
INEC has now referred the matter to security agencies for further investigation and possible prosecution under the Cybercrimes Act.
It also warned the public against sharing unverified information online and urged media organisations to prioritise fact-checking before publishing sensitive claims.
Reaffirming its position, the commission stressed that Amupitan does not operate any personal social media account and advised the public to rely only on official INEC channels for authentic information.
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