*Identifies X Users Behind Fake INEC Chair Posts, Calls For Prosecution
A forensic research publication has concluded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan SAN, never created, registered, or operated any X (formerly Twitter) account, including the one circulating under the handle @joashamupitan that allegedly made pro-APC posts during the 2023 elections.
The investigation, published by DIHIL, traced the origins of viral screenshots showing posts such as “Victory is sure,” “They are evil in the 21st century,” and “Asiwaju” posts widely circulated as evidence of the INEC Chairman’s political bias. Researchers found critical timeline contradictions: the alleged post attributed to @joashamupitan was timestamped 4:05pm, yet the original post by APC youth leader Dayo Israel which reportedly inspired the fabrication was made 13 minutes later at 4:18pm on X and 4:09pm on Facebook.
The report further identified that a new impersonation account bearing the handle @joashamupitan was created in the United States on April 10, 2026, using the email address [email protected] an address not linked to Prof. Amupitan in any way. Meanwhile, a separate account, @Sundayvibe00, was independently created in Nigeria on April 11, 2026, with the email [email protected], debunking claims that the two accounts shared the same identity or origin.
Investigators also noted that the professorial photograph used as the display picture on the alleged original account was taken at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) when Prof. Amupitan was installed as Pro-Chancellor in November 2025 over three years after the account was supposedly created in September 2022, making it technically impossible for that image to have been the original profile photo.
Click here to download the full report by DIHIL in PDF format.
The document names several X users including @Trigottista, @Realqueenbee__, @Stevedonalds, @OchiJnr, and @MrEnugu1 as the alleged coordinators of the misinformation campaign. Their accounts, according to the research, were all registered using Hotmail addresses and operated from countries including Italy, Canada, North America, and the United States. The report calls for their arrest and prosecution under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act 2015 (as amended 2024), the Terrorism Prevention Act 2022, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Click here to download the full report by DIHIL in PDF format.
