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The Independent National Electoral Commission has commenced a full-scale investigation into the alleged unauthorised access and publication of voter information from its Continuous Voter Registration database following the circulation of personal details belonging to a candidate who participated in a recent political party primary in the Federal Capital Territory. INEC said it is treating the matter as a serious breach of protocol and has begun examining how the information was obtained and released. 
In a statement issued by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, the commission disclosed that preliminary audit findings had already traced the access to a specific user account assigned to personnel involved in the ongoing voter registration exercise. According to INEC, relevant officials connected to the account have been questioned while several departments are cooperating with investigators to establish whether internal access-control rules were violated. 
The controversy emerged after personal voter information linked to actor-turned-politician Emeka Ike appeared online, allegedly through screenshots obtained from an INEC administrative portal. The information was shared by Lere Olayinka, a media aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, prompting criticism from civil society groups and data-privacy advocates. Ike subsequently threatened legal action, describing the publication of his voter details as a violation of his privacy and a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s electoral system. 
INEC, however, stressed that there is currently no evidence of hacking, external intrusion, or a compromise of its wider ICT infrastructure. The commission said the incident involved the retrieval of a specific voter record through valid credentials rather than a cyberattack on its systems. It also reassured Nigerians that the personal information of more than 90 million registered voters remains secure. Meanwhile, the Department of State Services has opened a separate investigation, and INEC has vowed to prosecute anyone found responsible for the unauthorised disclosure of voter data. 
