Wetin dey inside forensic investigation wey Inec do to clear allegation say Prof Amupitan get X account

Report of one new investigation by Nigeria election body, Inec don make pipo kwesion say how di commission go conduct forensic investigation for dem sef for dia chairman Prof Joash Amupitan.

Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec), on Monday release result of dia forensic investigation wey dem do ontop allegations say dia Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, dey linked to one X account wey make political comment.

Inec chairman oga Amupitan, enta serious scrutiny from di hands of Nigerians afta one X comment allegedly claim say e dey support di ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Inec say dia investigation reveal say dia chairman no dey operate any personal X account and di X account wey dem dey link to am na lie.

Inec don first debunk di claim bifor say dia Chairman no get any X account, but dem do anoda investigation to find out tins about di claim.

According to statement by di Chief Press Secretary to Inec Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, di commission say dem "commit to full forensic investigation wia dem commission independent forensic cybersecurity expert, wey conducted multi-layered forensic and digital investigation using X platform data, internet archive records, OSINT tools, identity forensics and cross-platform analysis."

But dis new investigation by di commission don make pipo kwesion say how Inec go conduct forensic investigation for imsef.

"Di independent forensic investigation report conclusively establish say Prof Amupitan no dey operate any personal X (Twitter) account.

"All di alleged posts, replies, or statements attributed to am on X (Twitter) dey fraudulent, forensically unverifiable, technically impossible, and na part of coordinated disinformation."

Meanwhile, di BBC neva independently verify di claims of Inec and di alleged link wit an X account. But our initial research find say di alleged X account don change username.

Inec say dem don carry di result of dia forensic investigation go law enforcement agencies for further actions.

"Make di law enforcement agencies move fast to trace di origin of di fabricated screenshots, identify di individuals responsible for creating and operating di @joashamupitan account, and prosecute dem under Nigeria Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act."

"Social media platforms, including X, Meta, and Instagram, must also adopt fast-track impersonation response protocols for verified electoral bodies and senior public officials, wey dia identities fit dey exploited to kwanta democratic processes."

Wetin eb Inec findings

Allegation come out say one X account wey dey linked to di Inec Chairman comment for di post of APC Youth Leader Dayo Israel say "Victory is sure" for 2023.

Di X handle wey drop di comment na @joashamupitan while di display name na Prof Joash Ojo Amupitan - dis na same name wit dat of di current Inec Chairman.

Di screenshot of di comment don make dem dey drag di Inec Chairman for social media.

For 18 March, 2023, APC national youth leader Dayo Israel make one tweet post around 4:02pm and later update am around 4:18pm.

Di post na about election wia e tok say im party APC win 7 out of 10 polling units for im area wey dem neva win bifor.

According to di BBC News Pidgin research into dis post, we confam say di 2023 gubernatorial election happun for 18 March.

"Howeva, is no linkage dey between di X (Twitter) account and Prof. Amupitan yahoo or Unijos emails. Timestamp analysis show di alleged 2026 reply, "Victory is sure', was posted 13 minutes bifor di original post by @dayoisreal."

"Dis dey physically impossible on any digital platform. Wayback Machine searches show zero records of @joashamupitan on X (Twitter) before April 2026."

Di claim say di X account @joashamupitan dey linked to Prof. Amupitan known email address: amupitanj@yahoo.com na lie.

"No linkage dey between di email account and di X account. Independent investigators confa say di email address amupitanj@yahoo.com appear like di one on di University of Jos (Unijos) CV records and legal directories, establishing say e dey genuine, but dis same investigation find no linkage between dat email and di disputed X account."

"Di claim say di X account dey linked to phone number belonging to Prof. Amupitan name wen dem subject am to OPay and BVN checks. Specifically, di number 0803 *** 4099 returns 'Joash Ojo Amupitan' through OPay/GTBank BVN query."

"All di account recovery attempts fail. No connection dey established between di phone number and di X account."

"On di OPay/BVN data, dis confam say only Prof. Amupitan get di phone number. E no connect di phone number to di X account."

Controversies around Inec Chairman, Amupitan

For October 2025, di National Council of State bin approve di appointment of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as di new Chairman of Inec, and President Bola Tinubu present Amupitan name to di Nigerian Senate for screening, and dem confam am on 16 October 2025.

In recent times, Amupitan and Inec don enta news for different issues but majorly na sake of 2027 general elections, integrity and party issues.

Di different criticism wey Professor Amupitan don chop dey make pipo question how 2027 general elections go dey free and fair.

From call for resignation, election timetable, electoral act and now to dragging ontop weda im dey support President Tinubu for di past.

Di wahala wey Inec and Oga Amupitan dey enta for di hands of some political parties and stakeholders, all dey linked to di 2027 general elections, especially dia decision to derecognise di David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Di ADC na party wey don exist bifor di 2023 election, but some political big names come togeda to form coalition wey dem wan use pursue di current President Tinubu of di All Progressives Congress (APC) comot for presidency.

For 1 April 2026, Inec say dem go comot di names of dia National Chairman David Mark, National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola plus names of oda National Working Committee members from dia portal sake of one Court of Appeal ruling.

Di coalition reject Inec decision as dem accuse di electoral body say dem yield to political pressure, govment influence and attempt to impose a one-party system

Dis decision cause serious drag for di Inec chairmo wia dem label am as partisan. Dem say e be like di Inec chairmo dey work in hand wit di current administration.

Inec even tok say dem no go recognise any of ADC activities until dem settle dia party wahala.

Dis Inec decision lead to protest for Abuja, and even different dragging for social media.

Some groups dey call for di resignation of Inec chairman, just few months afta Oga Tinubu bin appoint am into office.

Bifor now, di Supreme Council for Shari'ah in Nigeria (SCSN) call for di removal of Inec chairman, Professor Amupitan, ahead of di 2027 general elections as dem describe am as potential threat to di stability of di Nigerian govment.

For interview wit di BBC for January 2026, di president of SCSN, Sheikh Bashir Aliyu Umar, say Nigerian Muslims no go accept any election results under di leadership of Amupitan as Inec chairman.

Sheikh Umar say dem dey take dis step becos of Amupitan previous actions, especially wen e bin write legal brief say Christian genocide dey for Nigeria.

Sheikh Umar say di Inec chairman take on religion dey dangerous to di electoral body and any 'electoral process under am na somtin wey pipo no go believe in.'