Alleged voter data leak: Nigerian Police nab INEC officer, quiz Wike’s aide, Olayinka

The Nigeria Police Force is looking into the unauthorized access and leak of voter info from INEC’s database.

They’ve made progress too – an INEC official’s been arrested, and a media aide linked to the Federal Capital Territory’s minister, Nyesom Wike, is being interrogated.

Security insiders say that the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) are digging deep. They’re checking out charges of database misuse, cyber crimes, and leaking confidential election data.

The FID-IRT also nabbed an INEC officer recently; we don’t know who it is though. Lere Olayinka, on the other hand, was just questioned about this at the Police Headquarters in Abuja. He spent some time there earlier this week.

This whole investigation began after INEC filed a complaint. They said the accused were conspiring, doing cyber intimidation, and sharing private election info without permission.

The controversy erupted after Olayinka shared screenshots on social media allegedly showing details of a voter registration transfer involving Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.

The disclosure came amid public debate over Ike’s eligibility to contest a House of Representatives seat in the FCT after he challenged the outcome of the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary election.

The social media post sparked widespread criticism, with many Nigerians questioning how the information was obtained and alleging that it could only have originated from INEC’s restricted voter registration database.

Responding to the incident, INEC denied reports that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked, maintaining that the disclosure resulted from the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials by an authorised official.

Investigators reportedly found that the detained electoral officer initiated contact with Olayinka through Facebook Messenger before forwarding voter registration documents via WhatsApp. The documents were allegedly intended to show that Emeka Ike’s voter transfer request had been initiated but had not yet received final approval.

During questioning, Olayinka reportedly told investigators that he had no prior relationship with the INEC official and was unaware that the documents were classified. He maintained that the official never indicated the information was confidential or restricted.

Meanwhile, the Department of State Services has commenced a parallel investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disclosure.

Police authorities are reportedly considering possible charges against both the INEC official and Olayinka, including criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unlawful disclosure of classified information and actions capable of causing a breach of public peace.