The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, June 2nd, says it has commenced an investigation into the alleged unauthorised access and publication of voter information linked to Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike.
This comes after Lere Olayinka, spokesman for the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, took to social media to mock Ike for registering in Imo State before transferring his voter registration to the FCT on May 15.
He attached two screenshots to the post, which many social media users alleged contained details obtained from INEC’s administrative login portal.
Speaking on the development, the National Commissioner and Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, stated that the commission takes the allegation seriously and will ensure that the facts surrounding the incidents are unveiled.
READ ALSO: Emeka Ike Vows to Confront Wike’s Aide Over Alleged Privacy Breach
The statement read, “The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission has been drawn to allegations currently circulating on social media and in some sections of the media regarding the alleged unauthorised access to the Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration database and the subsequent publication of information on a candidate in the recent primaries of a political party in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The Commission takes this allegation seriously and has immediately commenced a thorough investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident.”
INEC said authorised registration officers were given controlled access to parts of the Continuous Voter Registration system for official duties.
The commission said preliminary findings showed there was no hacking or external breach of its database.
INEC said, “Preliminary findings from the Commission’s audit trail so far, however, 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.
“Rather, the information in question was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise but released without authority.”
The commission said its audit trail had identified the user account through which the information was accessed.
It added that relevant personnel had been questioned and that all units connected to the matter were cooperating with investigators.
INEC said it was examining technical, administrative and operational factors to determine individual responsibility and whether internal access-control protocols were breached.
INEC said the incident involved the retrieval of a specific voter record and did not suggest a wider compromise of its voter registration system.
“The incident under investigation relates to the retrieval of a specific voter record and does not indicate any compromise of the Commission’s broader voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters,” the statement added.
The commission also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had begun an independent investigation into the matter.
It said it would continue to cooperate with relevant security agencies and refer anyone found culpable to appropriate legal action.
INEC urged members of the public and the media to disregard speculation while investigations continue.
The controversy came after Ike declared interest in contesting the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the FCT on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
