From Victor, Abuja
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has intensified a crackdown on the alleged illegal access and unauthorised disclosure of sensitive voter records belonging to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The police detained an electoral official and questioned Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the controversy surrounding leaked voter information.
Senior security sources said operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) are investigating allegations bordering on cyber infractions, unauthorised database access, misuse of restricted platforms, and the unlawful disclosure of classified national documents.
As part of the ongoing investigation, an INEC official, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained at the FID-IRT facility in Abuja, while Olayinka was interrogated on Tuesday at the Police Headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory.
Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that the investigation followed a formal complaint reportedly filed on behalf of INEC alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, and the unlawful release of classified electoral records.
The controversy stemmed from social media posts made by Olayinka in which he shared screenshots purportedly showing details of the voter registration transfer of Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike, from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
Olayinka reportedly circulated the information while questioning Ike’s eligibility to contest a House of Representatives seat in the FCT following the actor’s criticism of the primary process of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The publication triggered widespread reactions on social media, with many Nigerians alleging that the screenshots appeared to originate from a password-protected backend platform accessible only to authorised INEC personnel, raising concerns over voter data security and possible misuse of internal access privileges.
INEC on Tuesday denied reports suggesting that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked or externally compromised.
Rather than a cyber attack, the commission maintained that preliminary findings pointed to the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials assigned to authorised personnel.
The electoral body further stated that audit trail findings had enabled investigators to identify the user account through which the information was accessed, insisting that the incident involved a specific user action and did not indicate a compromise of its wider database infrastructure.
According to sources close to the investigation, the detained INEC official allegedly initiated contact with Olayinka through Facebook Messenger before forwarding voter registration materials to him via WhatsApp.
Investigators were reportedly informed that the official sought to provide Olayinka with information intended to establish that Emeka Ike had only recently initiated a voter transfer process and that the request had not yet received final approval from the electoral commission.
During his interrogation, Olayinka reportedly told investigators that he had no previous relationship with the electoral officer and had no prior knowledge of the individual before their communication.
Sources further stated that the FCT Minister’s aide maintained that he was unaware that the materials shared with him were classified documents, insisting that the INEC official did not indicate that the information was confidential or privileged.
Police authorities are said to be examining possible legal action against those involved, including allegations relating to criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unlawful disclosure of classified information, and conduct capable of causing a breach of public peace.
