Director of the Centre for Responsive Governance, Com. Ayo Ologun has warned that Nigeria may be sitting on a deeper crisis of electoral integrity and accountability surrounding alleged access to the backend voter database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), involving presidential aide Lere Olayinka, questioning how a non-INEC staff could reportedly gain access to sensitive voter information stored in a password-protected backend system.
Speaking on Wednesday during an exclusive media chat on Frontline a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, Ogun State, Ologun said the issue goes beyond technical breach concerns, insisting it reflects a wider problem of consequences not being enforced in Nigeria’s governance structure.
According to him, “One of our problems as a nation is that there are often no consequences for action. And when there is no precedence of ensuring that there are consequences for actions taken or inactions, what you create is a society where everybody becomes law or a lord unto himself.”
Ologun stressed that the system in question was not a public-facing platform but a restricted database, warning that any compromise could have far-reaching implications.
He added, “This is not a general information. It is not something that you can Google search. It is not something that you can access by research. It is a document that is passworded.”
Describing the concern further, he said, “It is a document from the backend, which means if you do not have access officially to such, you cannot have what is obtainable at that backend server.”
He warned that such access, if confirmed unauthorized, raises fears about voter data protection and the integrity of electoral systems in Nigeria.
Ologun added that “our data as Nigerians are not safe,” suggesting possible internal sabotage within sensitive government systems.
He further alleged that individuals within institutions may be exploiting insider access, stating, “Within every system, including the military as we have seen over the years, and now INEC, there are saboteurs, people who are within the system, looking for powers outside of the system.”
He also linked the development to a broader culture of political impunity, arguing that some public officials operate as though they are above the law.
Turning his attention to political actors, Ologun referenced the influence surrounding FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, speaking through his media aide Lere Olayinka, and questioned the culture of unchecked authority.
When discussing a past controversial remark attributed to Wike, he said, “Wike in one of his media said it openly about Seun Okinbaloye that if he had a gun, he would have killed him if he was in the studio.”
He described the reaction to such statements as weak, arguing that no meaningful consequences followed.
He added, “That statement is not just unofficial… it is a statement that ordinarily, if made by a public figure, will have not only cost him his office, but will have cost him being investigated.”
Ologun lamented what he called selective enforcement of laws, stating, “This is what you get when you embody individuals to begin to see themselves as bigger than the law.”
He further argued that the alleged INEC backend access case must be thoroughly investigated and not treated casually.
“If Lere Olayinka gets away with this, it shows that we have laws that are different. One for the poor and the ordinary. One for those who are in power,” he warned.
Ologun also raised concerns about the electoral implications of such breaches, arguing that trust in the system could collapse if backend systems are vulnerable.
He said, “If an individual, through whatever means, can have access to information at the back end… who says that same person cannot influence the collation of results?”
Reacting to INEC’s denial of hacking, Ologun noted that the commission claimed the access came through legitimate credentials linked to personnel involved in voter registration.
He questioned the transparency of the process, insisting that accountability requires disclosure of responsibility.
He said, “They know who logged in. They know the officials that have that access… what has become of that individual?”
He argued that even if names are withheld, institutions must confirm disciplinary action has been taken to restore public trust.
Ologun maintained that transparency, not secrecy, is essential for rebuilding confidence in institutions like INEC.
He stated that “information that ordinarily they need not ask you before they know” should be proactively disclosed by government agencies.
He also criticised what he described as excessive secrecy culture in public administration.
According to him, “We live in a nation where they make information look like it is the date of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.”
Ologun urged INEC to go beyond press statements and ensure concrete action is taken against whoever is responsible for the alleged breach.
He insisted that consequences, arrests, and system improvements must follow any confirmed breach warning that failure to act decisively could erode public confidence ahead of future elections.
Reacting to calls by opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar for a full-scale investigation into the matter, Ologun agreed that political parties should be concerned, stating that electoral integrity is central to democratic competition.
He said, “If this can happen with the information of voters, then as a political party, they are right to not be comfortable with what could happen with the record of our votes.”
He, however, cautioned that such investigations must not remain at the level of political statements without follow-through.
Ologun also referenced the growing strength of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, while noting the fragmentation of opposition forces.
He also mentioned the African Democratic Congress (African Democratic Congress) and internal coalition arrangements involving figures like Atiku Abubakar.
