‘You Can’t Act As Judge In Your Own Case,’ Nigerians Reject INEC’s Self-Conducted Forensic Report, Insist Busted APC Chieftain Must Go
Nigerians have rejected the forensic report that cleared the embattled chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Joash Ojo Amupitan of partisanship following the exposure of posts he made in 2023 supporting Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
This follows weeks of online controversy sparked by viral screenshots claiming the INEC chairman operated an X account (@joashamupitan) and made a partisan post, “Victory is sure,” purportedly in response to another user.
The allegations escalated after additional screenshots circulated on social media, purporting to show emails, phone numbers, BVN records and data breach links tying the professor to the account, claims that were widely shared across platforms before being subjected to verification.
In the statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, on Monday the commission warned against spreading unverified social media content.
According to a comprehensive independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation commissioned by INEC, the claims were “fabricated, technically impossible and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.”
The report, which relied on X platform data analysis, OSINT tools, internet archive records and timestamp verification, concluded that Prof. Amupitan “does not operate any personal X account.”
A key section of the findings stated, “The X account attributed to Prof. Amupitan is a clear case of impersonation. All alleged posts, replies or statements linked to him are fraudulent and unverifiable.”
The investigation further revealed that the disputed account was created in September 2022 but had no linkage to the professor’s known email or official institutional contacts.
One of the most critical findings centered on timestamp analysis of the viral post.
The report stated, “The alleged reply ‘Victory is sure’ was posted 13 minutes before the original post it responded to. This is physically impossible on any digital platform.”
Investigators also confirmed that the supposed reply does not exist on the live X platform or in any archived version, adding,”The reply has never existed on X. It is absent from both live threads and historical records.”
“The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) reportedly showed no trace of the account or any activity attributed to it before April 2026.
The report also uncovered what it described as a “deliberate impersonation pattern.”
However, the report has sparked widespread reactions on social media under the hashtag #AmupitanMustGo, centres on allegations that the report was forged or manipulated to favour certain political interests.
Many critics argue that the situation raises serious concerns about neutrality and transparency of the report especially given claims that the report is conducted by INEC itself, noting that is is not independent of manipulation.
READ ALSO: BUSTED: Deleted Tweet Exposes INEC Boss Joash Amupitan As Bonafide Card Carrying Member Of APC
According to some commentators, allowing individuals or parties with vested interests to influence investigative outcomes undermines public trust. “You can’t be a judge in your own case,” they widely shared reaction stated, as calls mounted for Amupitan’s resignation.
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