JUST IN: INEC Suspends Electoral Officer Linked to Emeka Ike’s Voter Data Leak

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended an electoral officer allegedly involved in the recent voter data leak, saying investigations by security agencies and data protection regulators are still ongoing.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday during a fireside chat organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in Abuja, where stakeholders reviewed the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election.

The development follows a controversy that arose after the voter registration details of actor and politician Emeka Ike surfaced online during a dispute linked to a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory.

The disclosure of the information raised concerns over the security of voter records and prompted calls for a thorough investigation into the source of the leak.

In response, INEC launched a probe into what it described as the unauthorised disclosure of information obtained from its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database.

According to the commission, preliminary findings showed there was no external breach of its ICT infrastructure or compromise of its voter register.

Rather, the data was allegedly accessed using valid credentials assigned to officials involved in the ongoing CVR exercise and subsequently disclosed without authorisation.

INEC said its audit trail enabled investigators to identify the specific user account used to access the voter record, leading to the questioning of personnel with access to the system.

The commission maintained that the incident involved only a single voter record and did not affect the personal information of more than 90 million registered voters in its database.

The matter was subsequently referred to the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.

Haruna said the commission acted immediately after becoming aware of the incident by suspending the officer and commencing an internal investigation.

According to him, the officer has since been relieved of his duties pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.

“As soon as this thing happened, of course we were worried and we took immediate steps. As I am talking to you now, the officer involved is under suspension. He is no longer functioning in that office,” Haruna said.

He explained that INEC had completed its internal investigation and handed the matter over to the appropriate authorities for further action.

Haruna disclosed that the officer admitted involvement in the incident and allegedly acted due to personal grievances arising from previous interactions with political actors.

While declining to provide further details because of the ongoing investigations, he stressed that the commission treated the matter seriously and acted in accordance with established procedures.

According to him, the police, DSS and relevant data protection authorities are conducting separate investigations into the incident.

“The police have done their own investigation. The DSS has also conducted investigations. We have completed our own internal investigation and suspended the officer. We are waiting for the final reports before taking the next step,” he said.

Haruna said the commission would determine any additional disciplinary measures after reviewing the reports of the security agencies and regulators.

He, however, insisted that the incident should not be seen as evidence of systemic flaws in INEC’s data management system.

The commissioner said the electoral body had continued to strengthen safeguards around voter information and remained committed to protecting the personal data of Nigerians.

Haruna also emphasised the need for greater public understanding of how voter information is collected, stored and managed, noting that increased awareness would help counter misinformation surrounding election technology and data security.

He added that INEC would continue to collaborate with data protection regulators, civil society groups and security agencies to enhance public confidence in the management of voter information ahead of future elections.