The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) have launched investigations into an alleged voter data leak involving Nollywood actor Emeka Ike. The probe follows widespread public outrage over a social media publication that reportedly exposed the actor's personal voter registration details.
Origin of the Controversy
The controversy began after Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, shared a post on social media containing a screenshot of Emeka Ike's voter registration record. The post commented on the actor's reported political ambition, triggering reactions from Nigerians who raised concerns about possible unauthorised access to the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database and potential violations of data protection laws.
INEC's Response
INEC, in a statement by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said it has commenced a full investigation into the incident. Preliminary findings show no evidence of hacking or external compromise of its voter registration database. The Commission explained that the information was accessed using valid credentials issued to authorised CVR personnel but was allegedly released without approval, pointing to possible internal misuse of access rights rather than a system breach.
According to INEC, audit trails have helped identify the user account through which the information was retrieved, and relevant staff have been questioned as part of ongoing inquiries. The electoral body clarified that the issue relates to a single voter record and does not indicate any compromise of its broader database, which contains data on over 90 million registered voters nationwide.
Parallel DSS Investigation
INEC also confirmed that the Department of State Services has opened a parallel investigation into the matter. Both agencies are expected to collaborate in determining how the information was accessed and subsequently made public.
Actor's Reaction
Meanwhile, Emeka Ike has said he is prepared to take action against Lere Olayinka over the alleged exposure of his personal data. Reacting on Channels Television's The Morning Brief, Ike described Olayinka's action as “quite shocking, extreme” and stressed, “it is the height of political rascality for a government officer to access a citizen’s information from the INEC cyber.”
He added, “It tells you a lot; it shows how much impunity we have flying around, and people have access to things they shouldn’t be having access to, and that’s quite deplorable. I see that as a huge insult and slap on every political party and every Nigerian. He is telling every Nigerian that whoever you are, I can pull your information from anywhere and I can do what I want, and that rascality needs to be stopped.”
Ike concluded, “Actions are ready, I’m ready to take him on. He has no right to exploit my privacy and insult Nigerians the way he did. If he has been doing it in the past, this should be the last time he does it.”
