Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced plans to hire forensic experts to determine the authenticity of old social media posts allegedly made by its chairman, Professor Josh Amupitan, which appear to show strong support for President Bola Tinubu.
The decision follows growing public controversy and demands from opposition parties questioning the chairman’s impartiality ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief, the INEC Director of ICT, Lawrence Bayode, disclosed that the commission is treating the matter as a potential threat to institutional integrity, especially as it prepares for the 2027 general elections.
Addressing the controversy, Bayode emphasised that the commission would not be pressured into making a hasty judgment based on social media circulated images. He maintained that a rigorous, evidence-based approach is necessary to determine the authenticity of the posts.
“We are taking this further because even though like I said we have referred this to security agencies, like I said we relied on evidence,” Bayode stated. “I will not base my judgment on screenshots. I will not allow that to guide my conclusion.
The ICT Director further noted that while the commission is conducting an internal review, an external eye is required to ensure transparency and technical accuracy.
“We are also going to be engaging the third party, forensic expert to also look at this, we are also looking at it in-house,” he added. “I know that the commission will engage a third-party forensic expert to also look at this and that will guide the conclusion of the commission.”
The commission says it has officially escalated the matter to Nigerian security agencies to track the origin and possible manipulation of the digital footprints in question. The move comes amid rising concerns over the neutrality of the electoral umpire ahead of 2027 polls.
Bayode linked the urgency of the investigation to the commission’s technological roadmap, suggesting that any breach of trust now could undermine public confidence in the electronic systems planned for 2027.
“This is happening, we wouldn’t just keep quiet, we need to look at all this,” the Director noted. “We are going to be deploying technology massively [for the] 2027 general election and if this is already happening now, we need to ensure that we did the needful.”
Last week, artificial intelligence tool Grok linked an X (formerly Twitter) account to Prof. Amupitan, the INEC Chairman. The account was said to have been created under the username “joashamupitan” and contained posts that appeared supportive of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its 2023 presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu. Tinubu is the incumbent president, having won the 2023 presidential election.
