The Nigeria Police Force has interrogated Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the alleged leak of voter data from the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to a report on Wednesday, investigators from the Force Intelligence Department, Intelligence Response Team, questioned Olayinka at the Police Headquarters in Abuja as part of an ongoing probe into alleged cyber infractions, unauthorised database misuse and the leaking of classified national documents.
The report added that an electoral officer of INEC, whose identity was not disclosed, had also been detained by the police in connection with the incident.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the probe was initiated following a formal complaint filed on behalf of INEC, alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation and the unlawful disclosure of classified documents.
The controversy stemmed from a social media post by Olayinka in which he shared screenshots purportedly showing details of the voter registration transfer of Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike, from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
Olayinka had questioned Ike’s eligibility to contest a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, a move that sparked widespread criticism and concerns over the security of INEC’s voter database.
Many Nigerians accused the FCT minister’s aide of gaining unauthorised access to a password-protected backend system reserved for electoral officials.
Reacting to the development, INEC on Tuesday dismissed claims that its Continuous Voter Registration database had been hacked, insisting that there was no external breach of its system.
The commission stated that the unauthorised disclosure of Ike’s voter information resulted from the misuse of valid internal credentials by authorised personnel.
Findings indicated that the detained electoral officer allegedly contacted Olayinka through Facebook Messenger and later shared documents relating to Ike’s voter registration status via WhatsApp.
During questioning by investigators, Olayinka reportedly denied having any prior relationship with the electoral officer and maintained that he was unaware the documents were classified.
Sources said he told investigators that the official did not inform him that the information was privileged or restricted.
The Department of State Services is also said to be conducting a parallel investigation into the circumstances surrounding the release of the voter records.
Meanwhile, the police are considering possible charges against both Olayinka and the INEC official, including criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unlawful disclosure of classified documents and conduct capable of causing a breach of peace.
