Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded a comprehensive investigation into the alleged exposure of information from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s database, insisting that the commission’s explanation has left critical questions unanswered.
The controversy stems from claims that information linked to a candidate who participated in a recent political party primary in the Federal Capital Territory was accessed and later made public.
In response, INEC announced on Tuesday that it had begun an inquiry into the incident involving its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database.
According to the electoral commission, the matter is being treated with utmost importance, with efforts underway to establish exactly how the information was obtained and disclosed. INEC also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had independently launched its own investigation into the case.
A statement issued by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, revealed that preliminary findings showed no evidence of an external cyberattack on the voter registration database or the commission’s information technology infrastructure.
INEC explained that authorised Registration Officers engaged in the ongoing nationwide CVR exercise had controlled access to certain areas of the system for official responsibilities such as registering voters, processing transfer applications and updating voter information.
The commission said an initial review of its audit trail helped investigators identify the specific user account through which the information was accessed.
It added that relevant personnel had already been questioned and that departments connected to the incident were cooperating with the probe.
INEC further stated that investigators were reviewing technical, administrative and operational aspects of the matter to determine accountability and ascertain whether internal access protocols had been breached.
It said: “Preliminary findings from the commission’s audit trail so far, however, 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.
“Rather, the information in question was accessed through valid user credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise but released without authority.”
The commission stressed that the incident involved only the retrieval of a specific voter record and did not indicate any compromise of the broader voter registration system or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters.
Reaffirming its position on data security, INEC said: “The commission wishes to state categorically that it takes the security, confidentiality and integrity of voter data with the utmost seriousness and remains committed to transparency, institutional integrity, and the protection of voters’ personal information.”
According to INEC, “the DSS, on its own accord, has commenced an independent 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 electoral body also appealed to the public and media organisations to avoid speculation while investigations continue, assuring Nigerians that the outcome of the probe and any resulting actions would be made public.
Reacting to the development, Atiku maintained that INEC’s account had intensified concerns rather than resolving them.
Through a statement issued Tuesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president argued that the commission had effectively shifted the issue from allegations of external hacking to questions about internal compromise and possible political influence.
The statement read, “INEC’s statement has moved this issue beyond conjecture. The commission has now confirmed that voter information was accessed through credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise and that such information was released without authority.
“What Nigerians want to know is simple: how did information that resides within a restricted electoral database find its way into the hands of political actors and their associates?”
Atiku insisted that the absence of a cyberattack did not reduce the seriousness of the matter.
“The fact that there was no external hack does not diminish the gravity of the incident. If anything, it raises even more troubling questions about internal controls, institutional safeguards, and the possibility of political interference,” he said.
He also highlighted the involvement of Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, noting that Olayinka was the individual who publicly circulated the information at the centre of the controversy.
“What makes this entire episode impossible to ignore is that the information in question did not emerge from a whistleblower, an investigative journalist, or an anti-corruption agency.
It was publicly released by Mr Lere Olayinka, spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike,” Atiku stated.
The ADC presidential candidate further connected the issue to recent remarks made by Wike regarding the 2027 presidential election.
According to him, concerns were heightened by the minister’s recent prediction that Atiku would fail to secure up to 10 per cent of votes in Rivers State during the next presidential contest.
It added, “Only days before this controversy erupted, Minister Wike publicly declared with remarkable certainty that Atiku Abubakar would not secure up to 10 per cent of the votes in Rivers State in the 2027 presidential election.
“The question, therefore, arises: what was the basis of such extraordinary confidence? Was it merely political chest-thumping, or does it reveal a mindset that believes certain political actors possess privileged access to institutions that are constitutionally required to remain neutral?”
Atiku argued that the issue had evolved into a broader concern about public trust in the independence of Nigeria’s electoral institutions.
“This is why the issue can no longer be reduced to the unauthorised disclosure of a single voter record.
It has become a test of whether Nigeria’s electoral institutions are truly insulated from political influence or whether politically connected individuals enjoy access and advantages unavailable to ordinary citizens,” he said.
He subsequently called on INEC to reveal the complete chain of custody of the leaked information, including those who accessed, approved, received and disseminated the data.
While welcoming the DSS investigation, Atiku stressed the need for an unbiased and thorough process.
“The Nigerian people will expect that investigation to be thorough, impartial, and fearless. No individual, regardless of political influence or proximity to power, should be beyond scrutiny,” he said.
The controversy followed reactions to comments made by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike, who threatened legal action against Olayinka over the alleged disclosure of his personal information from the INEC portal.
Ike, an indigene of Imo State, contested the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat in the FCT under the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress but was unsuccessful.
Olayinka had come under criticism after sharing what appeared to be Ike’s voter registration details from an INEC administrative webpage. In a post published on his X account on Saturday, he alleged that the actor had transferred his voter registration from Imo State to the FCT.
The post reportedly contained sensitive details including Ike’s application number, registration centre, Voter Identification Number, photograph, name and date of application, prompting concerns that the information originated from INEC’s administrative portal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Ike described the disclosure as shocking and “the height of political rascality,” insisting that his privacy rights had been violated.