Nigeria's INEC probes leak of actor Emeka Ike's voter data

The Independent National Electoral Commission is investigating the unauthorized disclosure of a voter's personal information from its database, an incident that has also drawn the attention of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force. The probe centers on the online publication of registration details belonging to actor and political aspirant Emeka Ike.

The controversy began after Lere Olayinka, a media aide to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, posted screenshots on social media appearing to show Ike's voter information, including his application number and Voter Identification Number. The post questioned Ike's eligibility to contest a House of Representatives seat in Abuja, noting he had recently transferred his registration from Imo State.

In a statement, INEC confirmed it had launched a thorough investigation. Preliminary findings indicate there was no external breach or hacking of the Continuous Voter Registration database. Instead, the commission stated the information was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to authorized personnel but was released without authority. An internal audit trail identified the specific user account...