*Commission Insists System Not Compromised
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun a probe into the leakage of voter data and alleged misuse of authorised access of actor-turned politician, Emeka Ike.
In a statement on Tuesday, June 2, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mohammed Haruna, said the probe followed allegations over an alleged unauthorised access to the Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database and subsequent publication of information on Ike in the recent primaries of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The statement read: “The Commission takes this allegation seriously and has immediately commenced a thorough investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident.
“As part of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise nationwide, authorised INEC Registration Officers were granted controlled access to specific components of the CVR system to enable them to register new applicants, process requests for the transfer of registration and update voter records where necessary.
“Such access is restricted to official duties only and is withdrawn at the conclusion of the exercise.”
INEC stated that an audit trail from the preliminary investigation has enabled it to identify the user account through which the information was accessed, adding: “Accordingly, relevant personnel have been questioned, and all units connected with the incident are cooperating fully with the investigation.
“The Commission is also 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.”
INEC said the Department of State Services (DSS) has also commenced an independent investigation into the matter, promising to “cooperate fully with all relevant security agencies and will not hesitate to refer any person found culpable for appropriate legal action.”
It, however, assured that the retrieval of a specific voter record does not indicate any “compromise of the Commission’s broader voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters.”
The electoral umpire urged the public and media “to disregard unfounded speculations, while investigations remain ongoing,” promising it will “continue to keep the public informed of its final findings and any measures taken in response to the incident in due course.”
Ike had threatened to drag Lere Olayinka, media aide to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to court over the alleged exposure of his personal data from the INEC portal, following his protest against failure to secure the National Democratic Congress (NDC) House of Representatives ticket for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency.
Following public concern, INEC, while confirming that Ike’s confidential voter information was accessed using valid staff credentials and subsequently released without authorisation.
The controversy arose after Ike’s details, alleged to have originated from INEC’s restricted administrative portal, were shared online by Olayinka shortly the actor announced plans to contest the seat.
