The Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) has launched the findings of a forensic investigation into an alleged X account linked to Prof. Joash Amupitan, its chairman.
In a press release issued on Monday by Adedayo Oketola, the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, the fee mentioned the probe established that the account, @joashamupitan, didn’t belong to Amupitan and that every one related posts had been “fraudulent and a part of a coordinated disinformation effort”.
The controversy started on April 10 when screenshots circulated on-line alleging that the INEC chairman operated the account and posted a political remark, “Victory is certain”, allegedly in response to a different consumer.
The claims had been additional amplified with purported proof, together with emails, cellphone numbers, {Bank} Verification Quantity (BVN) particulars and OPay information, which had been offered by some social media customers as proof of possession.
Nevertheless, INEC mentioned it commissioned an unbiased cybersecurity forensic group to conduct a multi-layered digital investigation utilizing platform information, archives and open-source intelligence instruments.
In response to the report, “Prof. Amupitan does NOT function any private X (Twitter) account,” including that the alleged posts had been “fraudulent, technically inconceivable and digitally manipulated”.
The assertion additionally revealed that the disputed account underwent suspicious adjustments on the identical day the screenshots went viral, together with a username change from @joashamupitan to @sundayvibe00 earlier than being set to personal and later labelled a parody account.
“That is clearly a damage-control tactic by an impersonator in search of to eradicate a digital path,” Oketola mentioned.
INEC additional dismissed claims linking the account to the chairman’s e-mail, cellphone quantity or BVN, describing such assertions as baseless.
“The X platform would have confirmed linkage if any real affiliation existed. There isn’t a connection in any way,” the assertion added.
The fee additionally highlighted what it described as a vital inconsistency within the viral screenshots, noting that the alleged reply seemed to be timestamped earlier than the unique submit existed.
“The reply was proven 13 minutes earlier than the unique submit. That is bodily inconceivable and confirms the screenshots had been fabricated,” it mentioned.
INEC added {that a} reside search of the platform confirmed no proof that such posts ever existed, whereas additionally pointing to comparable impersonation makes an attempt throughout Fb and Instagram.
The fee mentioned the forensic report had been handed over to safety businesses for additional investigation and prosecution underneath Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, urging regulation enforcement to establish these behind the alleged coordinated disinformation marketing campaign.