I have followed the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC for years with growing concern. What we are witnessing now with their so called forensic investigation into the chairman Professor Joash Amupitan X account is not transparency or defense of integrity. It is a blatant self serving sham designed to shield the chairman from clear evidence of partisanship and to protect the commissions already damaged reputation ahead of the 2027 elections. Nigerians deserve the full truth not this polished denial that crumbles under basic scrutiny.
Let me lay out exactly what happened and why their report rings completely hollow. Back in September 2022 an X account under the name Joash Amupitan was created using the professor’s exact photo name and personal details including his verified phone number. This was long before he became INEC chairman when he was simply a university professor. The account stayed low key until March 2023 when it replied victory is sure to a post by Dayo Israel. Screenshots of that exchange spread widely along with email addresses phone numbers OPay and BVN records that tied directly to the professor. When the story broke on April 10th, 2026, Professor Amupitan quickly denied ownership and INEC launched what they call an independent forensic probe.
Their report claims the account is entirely fabricated because of impossible timestamps no links to the professors yahoo or university emails zero archives on the Wayback Machine and a sudden rename to a parody account on the very day the screenshots went viral. They even identified seven other fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram using his image and they point to a cybersecurity researcher now holding the renamed handle as proof of impersonation. On paper it sounds convincing but dig just a little deeper and the whole narrative falls apart as the desperate tactic it truly is.
Start with the timestamp they call physically impossible. INEC says the reply victory is sure appeared thirteen minutes before the original post it replied to. That sounds damning until you remember how X actually works. Dayo Israels post was edited minutes after it first went up at sixteen oh two. The reply from the account landed at sixteen oh five right after the initial version not the edited one that now shows sixteen eighteen. Anyone who uses the platform knows edits change displayed times but INEC ignores this basic fact and presents it as forensic evidence. This is not expert analysis it is selective omission to create doubt where none exists.
Then there is the phone number and contact details. INEC admits the number belongs to Professor Amupitan but downplays any connection to the account as mere coincidence. They say failed verification attempts through OPay and BVN prove nothing. Yet the account used those exact details for years and the professor never disowned them until the scandal hit. Why build and maintain a fake account in 2022 with an unknown academics real contacts if the goal was future damage? The timing only makes sense if the professor himself ran it all along and activated it when it suited his partisan leanings.
The wayback machine claim is another weak pillar. INEC insists zero archives before April 2026 prove the account never existed as claimed. But many legitimate accounts from that era were never crawled especially low activity ones. More telling is the sudden rename to parody and privacy lock exactly when screenshots circulated. Many Nigerians rightly call this classic damage control not evidence of fabrication. The current holder a verified cybersecurity expert named Coy Emerald has disclaimed any prior link yet INEC uses that to close the case without releasing raw data for independent review.
This brings me to the biggest red flag of all. INEC commissioned and ran the entire forensic investigation internally with an unnamed expert. No third party audit no public release of raw logs no peer review. They are judge jury and defense counsel in their own case. This is the same commission that has faced repeated accusations from opposition parties that the chairman openly supports the ruling All Progressives Congress APC from the 2023 elections through Abuja controversies right up to now. Public trust is already fractured and this fake forensic only widens the gap. They frame the entire episode as a coordinated disinformation campaign by enemies aiming to undermine the institution. Yet the real coordination appears to be INEC rushing statements to friendly media outlets with headlines about clearance while X explodes with edit histories video explainers and long standing digital footprints that tell the opposite story.
As someone who has repeatedly called out INEC bias in my writings I see this as part of a larger pattern. The chairman cannot claim neutrality when his digital footprint suggests otherwise. Nigerians watched him allegedly reply victory is sure in support of a ruling party aligned figure. Now instead of addressing it directly he hides behind institutional denial and technical spin. This is not how an electoral umpire behaves. It is how a captured institution protects its own. The consequences are serious. Without genuine trust in INEC voters may reject future results leading to protests instability and deeper division. Democracy cannot survive if the referee is seen as playing for one team.
I stand with the growing calls for real accountability. Professor Amupitan must step aside immediately to allow an independent third party audit of the full X data raw forensic logs and all associated accounts. Release everything publicly so Nigerians can judge for themselves. No more self investigations. No more victim framing. No more selective facts. If the account was truly fake and innocent why not prove it transparently instead of this elaborate cover up?
The fake forensic probe is not protecting democracy it is eroding it further. Nigerians and the world are watching and we will not be silenced. The chairman and the commission owe us better than spin. They owe us truth and impartiality or they must make way for those who can deliver it. Only then can we move toward elections that are truly free fair and credible for every citizen.
Nkiruka Nistoran the online publisher of NN News Media
