The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced an investigation into the alleged leakage of actor and politician Emeka Ike’s voter information and the reported misuse of authorised access to its voter registration database.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mohammed Haruna, said the probe followed allegations of unauthorised access to the Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database and the subsequent publication of information relating to Ike, a candidate in the recent Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Haruna stated that the Commission treats the allegation with utmost seriousness and has initiated a comprehensive investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
According to INEC, authorised registration officers were granted controlled access to specific components of the CVR system during the ongoing voter registration exercise to perform official duties, including registering new voters, processing transfers and updating voter records. The Commission stressed that such access is strictly regulated and withdrawn once the exercise concludes.
Preliminary findings from an audit trail have enabled the Commission to identify the user account through which the information was accessed. Relevant personnel have since been questioned, while all departments connected to the matter are cooperating with investigators.
INEC said it is examining all technical, administrative and operational aspects of the incident to establish accountability, determine whether internal access-control protocols were breached and take appropriate disciplinary action where necessary.
The Commission also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has launched an independent investigation into the matter. INEC pledged full cooperation with security agencies and vowed to prosecute anyone found culpable.
However, the electoral body assured Nigerians that the retrieval of a single voter record does not indicate any compromise of its broader voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of more than 90 million registered voters nationwide.
The controversy arose after Emeka Ike threatened legal action against Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the alleged public disclosure of his personal information obtained from the INEC portal.
Ike recently contested for the House of Representatives seat representing the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency under the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
