The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Security Service (SSS) have launched separate investigations into alleged unauthorised access to the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database, following a social media post by the spokesperson to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lere Olayinka, which appeared to show details from the commission’s voter registration records.
INEC spokesperson, Mohammed Haruna, said preliminary findings from its audit trail had enabled investigators to identify the user account through which the information was accessed.
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Mr Haruna reassured Nigerians that there was no evidence of an external cyberattack on its systems.
“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,” the statement said.
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Background
Mr Olayinka, the spokesperson for the FCT minister, had on Saturday shared screenshots of Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter details.
In the post, Mr Olayinka was taking a swipe at the Nollywood actor who announced his intention to contest a seat in the Federal House of Representatives, for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the FCT.
“Emeka Ike was a registered voter in Imo State. He only transferred his INEC Registration to the FCT on May 15, 2026 (15 days ago). And he wants to contest for House of Reps in Abuja,” Mr Olayinka posted on X.
“Someone who has never voted in the FCT o. What happened to his Imo State.”
Social media users pointed out that the records carried the admin site of the electoral commission, raising concerns as to how he got access to the commission’s data.
The post could still be accessed as of the time of filing this report. PEEMIUM TIMES could not get a reaction from Mr Olayinka as of the time of filing this report as he did not pick calls to his phone or respond to a message by the reporter.
INEC reacts
Although INEC did not mention Mr Olayinka in its reaction, it said it had taken the allegations ‘seriously’ and immediately commenced a “thorough investigation” to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
It disclosed that preliminary findings from its audit trail had enabled investigators to identify the user account through which the information was accessed.
“Relevant personnel have been questioned, and all units connected with the incident are cooperating fully with the investigation,” the statement read in part.
According to INEC, authorised registration officers participating in the ongoing nationwide CVR exercise were granted controlled access to specific components of the registration system to process new voter registrations, transfers and record updates.
The commission stressed that such access is strictly limited to official duties and is withdrawn after the exercise.
The electoral body said investigators are examining technical, administrative and operational factors to determine how the credentials were used and whether internal access-control protocols were breached.
INEC said the information in question was accessed using valid credentials assigned to personnel involved in the voter registration exercise but was subsequently disclosed without authorisation.
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INEC explained that the incident under investigation involved the retrieval of a specific voter record and did not suggest any compromise of its broader voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of more than 90 million registered voters.
The commission also revealed that the State Security Services (SSS) had independently commenced its own 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.
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