Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have questioned Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the alleged unauthorised release of a voter’s registration record.
The development comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) intensifies its investigation into the leakage of actor Emeka Ike’s voter information and a suspected misuse of authorised access to its voter registration database.
Confirming the police invitation, Olayinka said he had honoured the request.
“I was invited on Tuesday. I honoured their invitation,” he said.
INEC had earlier announced that it was investigating allegations of unauthorised access to its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database and the subsequent publication of information linked to a candidate who participated in the recent Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primaries in the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) had also commenced a separate investigation into the matter.
According to the commission, authorised registration officers are granted limited access to specific sections of the CVR system during voter registration exercises to process new registrations, transfers and updates of voter records. Such access, it noted, is strictly for official duties and is revoked at the end of the exercise.
INEC said preliminary findings had enabled investigators to trace the account through which the information was accessed.
“Relevant personnel have been questioned, and all units connected with the incident are cooperating fully with the investigation,” the commission stated.
It added that it was reviewing all technical, administrative and operational aspects of the incident to determine how the credentials were used and whether internal access-control procedures were breached.
The controversy followed a post made by Olayinka on X, in which he shared screenshots believed to have been obtained from INEC’s administrative portal.
The images reportedly contained details including Emeka Ike’s application number, registration centre, Voter Identification Number (VIN), photograph, name and date of registration.
The actor, who contested for the AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives seat under the NDC, has threatened legal action over the publication of his personal information.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Ike accused Olayinka of violating his privacy and vowed to seek redress.
“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,” he said.
Investigations by the police, INEC and the DSS are ongoing.
