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 said the action was taken following preliminary findings which traced the access to the actor’s voter record to valid login credentials assigned to officials involved in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The Commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Thursday during a fireside chat organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa in Abuja.
The controversy followed the circulation of Emeka Ike’s voter registration details online during a dispute connected to a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory.
Haruna said investigations by security agencies and data protection regulators were still ongoing, but stressed that preliminary findings did not show any external breach of INEC’s ICT infrastructure or compromise of its voter register.
According to him, the voter information was allegedly accessed from within the system using authorised credentials and later disclosed without approval.
He explained that INEC’s internal audit trail enabled investigators to identify the specific user account used to access the voter record, leading to the questioning of personnel who had access to the platform.
The Commission said the officer allegedly connected to the unauthorised access has since been suspended pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
INEC maintained that the incident was not the result of hacking, but an alleged internal misuse of access privileges by officials entrusted with voter registration data.
The development comes amid growing concern over the protection of citizens’ personal information in electoral processes, especially as the Commission continues the Continuous Voter Registration exercise ahead of future elections.
Haruna assured that INEC was working with relevant agencies to conclude investigations and determine further disciplinary or legal steps against anyone found culpable.
The post “No External Breach, Officer Suspended” — INEC Traces Emeka Ike Voter Data Leak To Alleged Internal Misuse Of CVR Login appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
