INEC Goes After Fake X Impersonators in Amupitan Smear

2027 Election Watch, Crime, Politics

INEC Goes After Fake X Impersonators in Amupitan Smear

Electoral commission says the “Victory is sure” account linked to its chairman was a manufactured impersonation job, not a real profile, and has now handed the matter to law enforcement.

Atlantic Post

April 21, 2026

3–5 minutes

Cybercrime, fake X account, impersonation, INEC, Joash Amupitan, Nigerian Elections

Electoral commission says the “Victory is sure” account linked to its chairman was a manufactured impersonation job, not a real profile, and has now handed the matter to law enforcement.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has launched a fierce counter-offensive against the online storm surrounding a fake X account linked to its chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan.

The commission says a forensic and cybersecurity probe has now blown the controversy apart, clearing Amupitan of any ownership of the account and branding the viral claims as a calculated act of impersonation.

At the centre of the row was a screenshot that spread like wildfire across social media, purporting to show an X account in the chairman’s name replying to another user with the line, “Victory is sure.”

That was only the opening shot.

More screenshots soon followed, with online users claiming the account was tied to the chairman through email records, phone numbers, BVN data and even alleged breach links. The material was shared widely before anyone stopped to ask the basic question: was it real?

INEC now says it was not.

According to the commission, the account was not operated by Prof. Amupitan, did not belong to him, and had no verified connection to his known contacts or official identity.

The statement, issued through the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the findings of the probe were blunt and unambiguous. The allegations, it said, were false, fabricated and technically impossible.

The report relied on X platform data, open-source intelligence tools, internet archive records and timestamp analysis. Its conclusion was devastating for the fake-account narrative.

Prof. Amupitan, it said, does not run any personal X account.

The commission said the disputed profile was a textbook case of impersonation, with every post, reply and statement linked to it deemed fraudulent and unverifiable.

The most damaging detail was the timing. Investigators said the alleged reply, “Victory is sure”, appeared 13 minutes before the original post it supposedly answered.

That, the commission stressed, is impossible on any functioning digital platform.

It did not stop there.

The investigators also said the reply never existed on X at all, not in live threads and not in historical records. The Internet Archive, they added, showed no meaningful trace of the account or any linked activity before April 2026.

That finding deepened suspicions that the entire affair was not a misunderstanding but a deliberate digital setup.

The probe further found that the account was renamed from @joashamupitan to @sundayvibe00 on the same day the screenshots began circulating, then switched to private and tagged as a parody account.

INEC says that behaviour fits the pattern of damage-control by an impersonator scrambling to cover tracks after exposure.

The commission also disclosed that at least seven other fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram appeared linked to similar identity misuse, hinting at a wider cross-platform impersonation network.

That is why the matter has now been escalated beyond public denial.

INEC says the case has been handed over to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act.

The commission also moved to crush another viral claim linking the account to personal data.

Investigators said the presence of a phone number in BVN records does not prove ownership of a social media account. In other words, scattered personal data does not amount to digital identity.

Repeated recovery attempts using X verification tools, the commission said, failed to connect the disputed account to the chairman in any official or technical sense.

INEC says the public must now treat the account as fraudulent unless confirmed through verified official channels.

The broader warning is plain enough.

In an election climate already thick with suspicion, misinformation and political warfare, the commission says this case is a reminder that social media can be weaponised with alarming speed.

It also urged media organisations to slow down, verify harder and refuse the temptation to turn raw screenshots into instant headlines.

For its part, INEC says it will continue to speak only through verified channels, while urging X, Meta and Instagram to strengthen rapid-response systems to curb impersonation of public officials.

For now, the commission insists the chairman’s name was dragged into a fake digital drama built on deceit, timing tricks and coordinated online amplification.

And this time, INEC is not just denying the story.

It is going after the people behind it.