INEC reacts to leaked data, hints on how Wike’s aide, Olayinka got access to Emeka Ike’s credentials

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has responded to the unauthorized access and display of information from its Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, database.

INEC’s response comes in light of a story currently circulating on social media and in various media outlets regarding the alleged unauthorized access to the Commission’s CVR database, as well as the subsequent publication of information concerning a candidate in the recent primaries of a political party in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

It is worth noting that Nollywood veteran Emeka Ike criticized Lere Olayinka, the media aide to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for disclosing his data from the INEC portal.

In an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Ike stated that he is ready to take legal action against the minister’s aide.

It should be recalled that Ike was unsuccessful in the primaries for the House of Representatives seat for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the FCT under the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Meanwhile, Olayinka has faced significant backlash from Nigerians after allegedly leaking Ike’s voter information via an INEC administrative webpage.

On his X handle on Saturday, the minister’s aide claimed that Ike was previously a registered voter in Imo State before transferring his registration to the FCT on May 15.

He allegedly included two images in the post, which many believed contained details sourced from INEC’s administrative login portal.

Some of the personal information displayed in the screenshots included Ike’s application number, registration centre, Voter Identification Number (VIN), profile picture, name, and date of application.

In response to the incident, Ike described Olayinka’s actions as shocking and indicative of extreme political misconduct.

INEC stated that it takes the allegation with the utmost seriousness and has promptly initiated a comprehensive investigation to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident.

It clarified that, during the ongoing nationwide CVR exercise, authorized INEC Registration Officers were provided with controlled access to certain elements of the CVR system. This access was necessary for them to register new applicants, process transfer requests, and update voter records as needed.

“Such access is limited strictly to official responsibilities and is revoked upon the completion of the exercise,” a statement by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), said.

“The audit trail resulting from the initial investigation has allowed the Commission to pinpoint the user account through which the information was accessed. Consequently, relevant personnel have been interrogated, and all departments involved in the incident are fully cooperating with the investigation.

“The Commission is also reviewing all technical, administrative, and operational aspects related to this issue to determine individual accountability and clarify the circumstances surrounding the use of those credentials, as well as identify any violations of internal access-control protocols before taking appropriate action against those implicated.

“Preliminary findings from the Commission’s audit trail thus far suggest that there was no external breach of the CVR database, no hacking incident, and no unauthorized external access to the Commission’s ICT infrastructure.

“Instead, the information in question was accessed using valid user credentials assigned to personnel engaged in the ongoing CVR exercise, but these credentials were disclosed without proper authorization.

“The incident currently under investigation pertains to the retrieval of a specific voter record and does not suggest any compromise of the Commission’s wider voter registration system or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters.”

The Commission said it wished 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, it added that the Department of State Services (DSS), on its own accord, has commenced an independent investigation into the matter.