WorldStage– Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has debunked viral claims linking its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to a partisan “Victory is Sure” post on X (formerly Twitter).
A forensic report released on April 20, 2026, characterized the post as part of a coordinated digital impersonation campaign designed to undermine the Commission’s neutrality.
The investigation, conducted with independent cybersecurity experts, cited several technical reasons for the dismissal of the claims.
According to the forensic report, the alleged reply was timestamped 13 minutes before the original post it was purportedly responding to, a physical impossibility on any digital platform.
While screenshots circulated included personal data like email and phone numbers, investigators found no actual link between the disputed account (@joashamupitan) and the Chairman’s verified credentials.
On April 10, 2026, the day the post went viral, the account was renamed to @sundayvibe00, set to private, and labeled as a “Parody Account.”
The report further revealed that searches on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine showed no record of the account or its alleged activities prior to April 2026.
Beyond the X account, INEC identified at least seven fake profiles on Facebook and Instagram impersonating Prof. Amupitan.
The Commission has referred the findings to law enforcement agencies for prosecution under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act.Despite the forensic clearing, some critics and opposition voices continue to express concern over institutional transparency and have called for independent verification.
