For weeks, the screenshot was everything. A blurry capture of an X post, allegedly from the account @joashamupitan, bearing two words: “Victory is sure.”
It seemed to show the Chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, wading into partisan waters. Then came the so-called digital paper trail: emails, phone numbers, BVN records, even whispers of a data breach. The internet did what the internet does. It ran.
But on Monday, the commission dropped a counter-narrative so technically precise that it reads less like a press release and more like a cyber-crime novel’s final chapter.
The verdict, after a forensic dissection of timestamps, archives, and platform bones: The account was a ghost. The post was a temporal impossibility. And the man at the center of the storm never had an X account to begin with.
INEC commissioned what it called a “comprehensive independent forensic and cybersecurity investigation.” The toolkit was formidable: X platform data analysis, open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools, Internet Archive records, and timestamp verification.
The conclusion, signed by Chief Press Secretary Adedayo Oketola, was surgical:
“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 account in question was created in September 2022. But investigators found no linkage—zero—to the professor’s known email or any official institutional contact.
Then came the kill shot.
The viral reply—”Victory is sure”—was allegedly posted in response to another user. But the forensic team pulled the thread and watched the fabric unravel.
“The alleged reply was posted 13 minutes before the original post it responded to. This is physically impossible on any digital platform.”
Think about that. A reply that predates its own parent post. In the logic of social media, that is the equivalent of a child being born before its parent.
And when investigators searched for the reply on the live X platform? Gone. Archived versions? Also gone. The report’s language was blunt: “The reply has never existed on X. It is absent from both live threads and historical records.”
The Wayback Machine, that digital librarian of the dead and buried, reportedly showed no trace of the account or any activity attributed to it before April 2026.
Here is where the case takes an almost theatrical turn.
On the very day the screenshots went viral, the disputed account underwent a sudden identity crisis. It was renamed from @joashamupitan to @sundayvibe00. It was set to private. And it was tagged—almost apologetically—as a “Parody Account.”
Investigators called this a “deliberate impersonation pattern.”
“The renaming and ‘parody’ label is consistent with damage-control by an impersonator,” the report stated.
But the impersonation was not a solo act. At least seven fake accounts across Facebook and Instagram were linked to similar identity misuse. A “multi-platform coordinated impersonation effort,” the report concluded.
One of the more insidious claims involved BVN records. Screenshots circulated purporting to show that the professor’s phone number and BVN were tied to the fake X account.
The forensic team dismantled this too.
Yes, they confirmed the professor’s phone number is validly registered. But that is where the connection ends.
“A phone number appearing in BVN records does not establish ownership of a social media account. There is no technical linkage between the X account and the phone number or email address.”
Multiple recovery attempts using X’s own verification tools failed to connect the account to any official identity belonging to the INEC chairman. No linkage. No chain of custody. No case.
INEC has now referred the matter to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act.
The commission’s warning to the public was measured but firm:
“The forensic evidence is comprehensive, multi-sourced and unambiguous. The posts attributed to Prof. Amupitan are fabricated. The account is a clear case of impersonation. The public is advised to refrain from sharing or amplifying unverified screenshots. Media organisations must apply strict verification standards before publication.”
INEC also called on X, Meta, and Instagram to strengthen rapid response mechanisms against impersonation of public officials.
And for the record—because the internet has a short memory—the commission reaffirmed that Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan does not operate any personal social media account. Official communications will come only through verified INEC channels.
“Any account purporting to represent the INEC Chairman should be treated as fraudulent unless confirmed through official sources.”
The screenshot is a powerful thing. It fits in a tweet. It confirms what we already want to believe. But in this case, the screenshot lied. The timestamps proved it. The archives proved it. The platform’s own bones proved it.
Victory, it turns out, was never sure. Because the battle itself was manufactured.
