New findings have linked the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, to alleged pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) activity during the 2023 general elections, raising fresh questions about the neutrality of Nigeria’s electoral umpire.
The report states that open-source intelligence (OSINT) traces a Yahoo email address, said to match one listed on Amupitan’s public University of Jos CV, along with an associated phone number, to an X (formerly Twitter) account that posted “Victory is sure” in response to a March 18, 2023 tweet by Dayo Israel, then APC National Youth Leader.
Israel’s post had celebrated the APC’s success in flipping a polling unit in an “Igbo-dominated” area during the 2023 elections. The alleged response is being presented as clear evidence of partisan alignment, directly contradicting repeated claims that the INEC Chairman is apolitical.
Screenshots of the interaction have circulated widely, with indications that the account was subsequently renamed or taken private, further intensifying scrutiny of the alleged digital trail.
INEC has issued a categorical denial, describing the allegation as “entirely baseless, a total fabrication, and a figment of the imagination of its purveyors.” The commission maintains that Prof. Amupitan does not own or operate any account on X, has never engaged in partisan commentary, and has remained non-partisan throughout his career.
The commission further described the claims as part of a “malicious and coordinated campaign of calumny” aimed at undermining public confidence in the electoral body.
Despite the denial, the emergence of alleged email and phone linkages to the account has significantly escalated the controversy, placing the credibility of INEC under renewed pressure at a critical time in Nigeria’s electoral cycle.
