Open-source intelligence (OSINT) findings appear to contradict Mr Amupitan’s claim that he has no prior ties Tinubu or the APC party.
Despite denying any past connection with President Bola Tinubu, fresh digital evidence suggests that INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, may not be as politically distant as he claims.
His Yahoo email and phone number have been traced to an X account that posted “victory is sure” in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2023.
On Friday, Mr Amupitan, through his spokesperson, Adedayo Oketola, pushed back against reports linking him to Mr Tinubu.
He insisted the INEC chairman is a neutral appointee, in line with constitutional requirements meant to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process.
Mr Oketola also stated that Mr Amupitan “does not own or operate any personal account on X” and has never made partisan comments or shown support for any political group, either publicly or privately.
But OSINT findings tell a different story.
An account with the handle @joashamupitan replied “victory is sure” to a post by APC chieftain Dayo Israel, who had announced that the party won seven out of ten polling units in an opposition stronghold largely populated by Igbo voters.
Further checks show that the account was registered with the email address amuanj@yahoo.com
the same one listed on a CV attributed to Mr Amupitan. The CV also includes his former institutional email, amuanj@unijos.edu.ng, from his time at the University of Jos.
To confirm ownership of the Yahoo account, a verification prompt revealed a linked phone number, 0803***4099. That same number is tied to an Opay account bearing the name “Joash Ojo Amupitan.”
Opay accounts typically display phone numbers without the leading zero.
In this case, 8035074099 appears as the registered number, with the account name matching Mr Amupitan’s full name.
Even so, the apparent link between the X account, the email address, and the phone number raises serious questions about Mr Amupitan’s claim that he has no political ties to Mr Tinubu or the APC, as the president prepares for a possible re-election bid in 2027.
