The Independent National Electoral Commission has suspended an electoral officer allegedly linked to the unauthorised disclosure of voter registration details belonging to Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike.
INEC disclosed the development on Thursday, saying investigations into the incident were ongoing, with security agencies and data protection regulators already probing the matter.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the suspension during a fireside chat organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa in Abuja.
The controversy erupted after personal voter registration information belonging to Ike surfaced online amid a dispute surrounding a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory.
Providing an update on the matter, INEC said preliminary findings had ruled out any external cyberattack on its information technology infrastructure or compromise of the national voter register.
According to the commission, evidence obtained from its internal investigations indicated that the voter data was accessed using legitimate login credentials assigned to officials participating in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
INEC explained that the information was allegedly retrieved and disclosed without authorisation, prompting disciplinary action against the officer identified in the probe.
The electoral body added that its audit trail system enabled investigators to trace the specific user account used to access the voter record, leading to the identification and questioning of personnel with access to the platform.
Haruna said the commission remained committed to safeguarding the integrity and security of voters’ personal information, stressing that further actions would be determined by the outcome of ongoing investigations.
The development comes amid growing concerns over data privacy and the protection of sensitive voter information ahead of future electoral activities in the country.
INEC has yet to disclose the identity of the suspended officer, while investigations by relevant authorities continue.
FOLLOW US
FOR MORE HERE
