The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has responded to allegations surrounding the alleged leak of voter information involving Lere Olayinka, spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Olayinka had recently mocked Nollywood actor Emeka Ike over his voter registration transfer from Imo State to the FCT, sharing images online that were later alleged to contain data accessed from INEC’s administrative system.
The controversy deepened after Ike reportedly indicated interest in contesting for the House of Representatives seat for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), raising concerns about how his details were obtained.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC confirmed that a full investigation had commenced.
According to the Commission, preliminary findings suggest that the information was accessed using valid credentials assigned to officials involved in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, rather than through an external hack.
INEC stressed that there was no breach of its database or external intrusion, noting that the incident involved misuse of authorised access and not a compromise of the broader voter registration system, which contains data of over 90 million voters.
The Commission added that relevant staff have been questioned, while all connected units are cooperating with investigators. It also confirmed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has launched a parallel probe into the matter.
INEC assured the public that anyone found culpable will face appropriate sanctions, urging Nigerians to ignore speculation as investigations continue.
