By Jeremy Fregene
The Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced an independent investigation into an alleged breach of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) voter registration database, as veteran Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike, threatened legal action against Lere Olayinka, a media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the publication of his personal voter information.
INEC confirmed on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into allegations of unauthorised access and disclosure of information from its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database following reports on social media that the voter records of a candidate who participated in the recent FCT political party primaries had been accessed and made public using official credentials.
In a statement issued by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, the commission said preliminary findings showed no evidence of an external cyber-attack or hacking of its systems.
According to INEC, its audit trail revealed that the information in question was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise and subsequently released without authorisation.
“Preliminary findings from the commission’s audit trail so far indicate that there was no external breach of the CVR database, no hacking incident, and no unauthorised external access to the commission’s ICT infrastructure,” Haruna said.
He disclosed that the commission had identified the specific user account through which the information was accessed, while relevant personnel had already been questioned as part of efforts to determine responsibility and establish whether internal access-control protocols were violated.
Haruna stressed that the incident involved the retrieval of a specific voter record and did not suggest any compromise of the commission’s wider voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of more than 90 million registered voters.
He added that the DSS had, on its own initiative, opened a parallel investigation into the matter, while INEC would continue to cooperate with security agencies and prosecute anyone found culpable.
The controversy erupted after Olayinka, a media aide to the FCT Minister, posted details on social media allegedly obtained from an administrative page of INEC relating to Emeka Ike, who contested the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the FCT on the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
The post reportedly contained screenshots showing Ike’s application number, registration centre, voter identification number, profile photograph, name, and date of registration transfer, prompting widespread concern over the security of voter information.
Reacting during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Ike described the development as disturbing and accused Olayinka of abusing access to confidential information.
“It’s quite shocking, extreme, and it is the height of political rascality for a government officer to access a citizen’s information from the INEC cyber,” Ike said.
“It tells you a lot, shows how much impunity we have flying around there, and people have access to the things they shouldn’t be having access to. That’s quite deplorable, and I see that as a huge insult and slap on every political party and every Nigerian.”
The actor argued that the incident raised broader concerns about the privacy and security of citizens’ personal information, alleging that it suggested public officials could improperly access sensitive records at will.
“He is telling every Nigerian that whoever you are, I can pull your information from anywhere, and I can do what I want, and that rascality needs to be stopped,” he said.
Ike vowed to pursue legal action against Olayinka, insisting that the publication of his voter information constituted a violation of his privacy rights.
“Actions are ready; I’m ready to take him on. He has no right to exploit my privacy and insult Nigerians the way he did. If he has been doing it in the past, this should be the last time he does it,” he stated.
The former House of Representatives aspirant also explained that although he initially planned to contest an election in his home state of Imo, appeals from supporters in the Federal Capital Territory persuaded him to seek elective office in Abuja.
According to him, the decision was driven by a desire to contribute to the development and governance of the nation’s capital.
As investigations continue, INEC has urged the public and the media to avoid speculation, assuring Nigerians that it remains committed to safeguarding voter data and maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.