• Forensic probe exonerates commission’s boss over alleged controversial X account
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Yemi Kosoko in Jos
The Faculty of Law, University of Jos, has issued a formal rejoinder dismissing allegations made by former Minister of Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung, against Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN.
The statement, dated April 18, 2026, and signed by Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Francis M. Kwede, was released in response to a viral Trust TV interview in which Dalung alleged that Amupitan, during his tenure as Dean of the faculty, manipulated academic results and victimised students.
The faculty said Dalung’s claims, particularly the allegation that results of 16 students in the 2009/2010 LL.B class were traded off in favour of “special students”, were entirely unfounded.
The rejoinder read, “Nothing of the sort ever happened in that class, or indeed any other class before or subsequent to it, to the best knowledge of the members of the Board.”
The faculty explained that rather than manipulating results, Amupitan introduced reforms that improved transparency and accuracy.
Kwede stated that upon assumption of office in 2008, Amupitan had replaced manual result compilation with an Excel based system, which eliminated errors and expedited processing, enabling students to meet Nigerian Law School deadlines.
“No Integrity Issues Surrounding Amupitan,” the faculty insisted.
The statement further asserted that Amupitan, who served as Dean of the law faculty from 2008 to 2014, maintained “the highest honour, candour, and integrity” throughout his service at the University of Jos.
It said his tenure witnessed significant academic and infrastructure improvements, and he was repeatedly elected by the University Senate into the Governing Council before later becoming Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration).
The faculty described Dalung’s allegations as politically motivated, and said the interview was granted “in the heat and thicket of partisan politics and rhetoric”.
Responding to Dalung’s claim that he was victimised during his postgraduate studies, the faculty stated that records showed that he completed his LL.M programme in December 2010 without any incident.
The rejoinder added that Dalung never contested any student’s degree classification before the Faculty Board and that there was no record of him fighting on behalf of any student over alleged result manipulation.
The faculty urged the public to ignore the allegations. It stressed that there was no evidence to support te claims of result favouritism or victimisation.
“The faculty has deemed it necessary to set the record straight so that the general public is not misled,” the statement read.
Alleged X Account: INEC-commissioned Forensic Probe Exonerates Amupitan
A forensic investigation commissioned by INEC exonerated Amupitan.
The forensic cybersecurity expert cleared Amupitan after a multi-layered forensic and digital investigation, using X platform data, internet archive records, OSINT tools, identity forensics, and cross-platform analysis.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, in a statement, said an independent forensic investigation report conclusively established that Amupitan did not operate any personal X account.
The report concluded that all the alleged posts, replies, or statements attributed to him on X (Twit-ter) were fraudulent, forensically unverifiable, technically impossible, and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
On April 10, 2026, Amupitan’s attention was drawn to posts and screenshots on social media claiming he operated an X (Twitter) account (@joashamupitan) and made a partisan post (“Victory is sure”) in reply to @dayoisreal.
Shortly after, more screenshots appeared online showing emails, phone numbers, OPay and BVN verification data, and data breach records linking Amupitan to the X (Twitter) account.
The records were widely shared across traditional and online media as corroborating proof.
Amupitan debunked the posts as false and stated that he had never owned or operated an X (Twitter) account.
Oketola said the key findings of the report revealed that the X account was created in September 2022, but there was no linkage between the X (Twitter) account and Amupitan’s yahoo or Unijos emails.
He disclosed that Timestamp analysis showed that the alleged 2026 reply, “Victory is sure”, was posted 13 minutes before the original post by @dayoisreal, stating that this is physically impossible on any digital platform.
He explained that Wayback Machine searches showed zero records of @joashamupitan on X (Twitter) before April 2026, saying the alleged reply @joashamupitan to @dayoisreal’s post was absent from all live and archived threads.
Oketola emphasised that on April 10, 2026, the same day the screenshots went viral, @joashamupitan was renamed to @sundayvibe00, set to private, and labelled “Parody Account”. This, he said, was consistent with deliberate impersonation and damage-control.
He stressed that current occupant of @sundayvibe00: Coy Emerald, a verified cybersecurity researcher, who reclaimed the handle through legitimate OSINT practice, had explicitly disclaimed any affiliation with the original account or its prior user.
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