Isaac Samuel
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has launched an investigation into an alleged voter data breach involving Nollywood actor Emeka Ike, following public outrage over the publication of his voter registration details on social media.
The controversy began after Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, shared a social media post containing what appeared to be a screenshot of Ike’s voter registration record while commenting on the actor’s reported political ambition.
The publication sparked criticism from Nigerians, who raised concerns about possible unauthorised access to the Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database and potential violations of data protection laws.
Responding to the controversy, INEC, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said it had commenced a full-scale investigation into the incident.
The Commission, however, said preliminary findings showed no evidence that its voter registration database had been hacked or compromised by external actors.
According to INEC, the information was accessed using valid credentials assigned to authorised personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise but was subsequently released without approval.
“The Commission is examining all technical, administrative and operational factors associated with the matter in order to establish individual responsibility and determine the circumstances surrounding the use of those credentials and identify any breach of internal access-control protocols before taking appropriate action against anyone involved,” Haruna said.
He disclosed that audit trails had enabled the Commission to identify the user account through which the information was retrieved, while relevant personnel had already been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
“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.
“Rather, the information in question was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise but released without authority,” he added.
INEC stressed that the incident involved only a single voter record and did not indicate any compromise of its broader database, which contains records of more than 90 million registered voters nationwide.
The Commission reiterated its commitment to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of voter information, assuring Nigerians that all necessary steps would be taken to identify those responsible and prevent a recurrence.
It also revealed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had independently commenced a parallel investigation into the matter and would work with the Commission to determine how the information was accessed and made public.
“The Commission wishes to state categorically that it takes the security, confidentiality and integrity of voter data with the utmost seriousness and remains committed to transparency, institutional integrity and the protection of voters’ personal information.
“Furthermore, the Department of State Services, on its own accord, has commenced an independent investigation into the matter. The Commission will continue to cooperate fully with all relevant security agencies and will not hesitate to refer any person found culpable for appropriate legal action,” the statement added.
INEC urged members of the public and the media to disregard speculation while investigations continue, assuring that its findings and any actions taken against those found responsible would be made public in due course.
