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INEC to promoters: You risk jail! *Amupitan not owner of controversial X account
Anyone promoting or linking Joash Amupitan, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the controversial X account, indicating earlier sympathy for the All Progressives Congress (APC), risks facing the full weight of the law henceforth.
This warning came from Commission on Monday, as it fully exculpated its embattled boss, who has been under intense scrutiny, since a supposed post from him surfaced on April 10, 2026, depicting him as supporter of the ruling party.
Amupitan, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Professor of Law, was said to have commented “Victory is sure” in response to a supposed APC supporter, reporting success in the 2023 presidential election.
But the commission, in a statement, on Monday, quoted Adedayo Oketola, spokesman of the INEC boss as saying that the purported X (formerly Twitter) account linked to Amupitan, was fake and part of a coordinated disinformation campaign.
Oketola, who disclosed that a comprehensive, multi-layered forensic investigation conducted by independent cybersecurity experts has conclusively established that the INEC Chairman does not operate any personal X account, added: “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) , committed to a full forensic investigation, commissioned an independent forensic cybersecurity expert, who conducted a multi-layered forensic and digital investigation using X platform data, internet archive records, OSINT tools, identity forensics and cross-platform analysis.”
The statement stressed that all posts, replies, and screenshots linking him to the handle @joashamupitan were fraudulent, forensically unverifiable, and technically impossible, adding that the forensic investigation uncovered clear evidence of fabrication and impersonation, highlighting no digital linkage between the disputed X account and the INEC boss’s verified email addresses or phone numbers, as multiple recovery and verification attempts failed to establish any link.
Other findings, the statement emphasized, indicated that the data used to suggest ownership of the account only confirmed identity but did not establish control of any social media handle, making such claims a logical fallacy, while the alleged reply “Victory is sure” was posted 13 minutes before the original tweet it responded to—an occurrence that is technically impossible and definitive proof of fabrication.
INEC stated that searches on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine showed zero evidence of the account or its alleged activity prior to April 2026 and that live checks confirmed that the alleged reply does not exist and has never existed on the platform.
It said on the same day the screenshots went viral, the account was renamed @sundayvibe00, set to private, and labelled a “parody account,” indicating deliberate impersonation and damage control, while at least seven fake accounts across Facebook and Instagram using the Chairman’s identity were identified, pointing to a sustained disinformation effort.
Oketola, who was quoted as saying further: “The forensic evidence is comprehensive, multi-sourced, and unambiguous. The posts attributed to Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan on X are fabricated. The account is a clear case of impersonation,” also described the development as “a coordinated digital impersonation and disinformation campaign,” warning that advances in artificial intelligence had made it easier to fabricate misleading content.
Urging the public to avoid sharing unverified information, he noted the fact that content went viral did not make it authentic, and called on media organisations to prioritise accuracy over speed.
Informing that the independent forensic report had been referred to the law enforcement agencies for necessary action, he appealed to law enforcement agencies to investigate the origin of the fake account and prosecute those responsible under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act.
His words: “Media organisations, in particular, have a duty to apply strict forensic verification standards to social media posts and screenshots before publishing them, especially when such content implicates public officials or carries serious consequences for public trust and institutional credibility. Accuracy, not speed, must guide reporting in matters of this nature.”
He reiterated that all official communications from INEC are disseminated exclusively through its verified platforms, including its website (www.inecnigeria.org), verified X account (@inecnigeria), official Facebook page, online news portal (www.inecnews.com), formal press statements from its headquarters in Abuja, and official media briefings. Any account purporting to represent the INEC Chairman in a personal capacity, he said, should be treated as fraudulent unless formally verified by the Commission.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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