Voter Data Leak: Police arrest INEC staff, grill Wike’s aide Lere Olayinka

The media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has been interrogated by the police over allegations involving the unauthorised exposure of voter information obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

According to TheCable, Olayinka was reportedly quizzed on Tuesday at the Police Headquarters in the FCT by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged cyber-related offences.

According to sources familiar with the case, the probe centres on claims of cyber infractions, unauthorised access to sensitive databases, and the alleged circulation of classified national documents.

In the same development, a yet-to-be-identified electoral official has been taken into custody at the FID-IRT facility in Abuja in connection with the matter.

Investigators said the case followed a formal petition submitted on behalf of INEC, which accused those involved of criminal conspiracy, cyber harassment, and the leakage of restricted documents.

How the Incident Began

The controversy stems from a post made by Olayinka on X (formerly Twitter), where he shared screenshots reportedly showing Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.

In the post, he questioned the actor-turned-politician’s eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in the FCT, following Ike’s recent protest regarding primaries under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The publication triggered public backlash, with many Nigerians alleging that Olayinka may have accessed a password-protected INEC backend system not available to the public.

INEC Reacts to Allegations

INEC later responded, dismissing suggestions that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked or widely compromised.

The commission clarified that the incident resulted from the alleged misuse of legitimate access credentials by an authorised individual, rather than an external breach.

Contact Between INEC Official and Olayinka

Sources further revealed that the electoral officer involved reportedly contacted Olayinka to provide what was described as “evidence” showing that Emeka Ike had only recently applied for a voter transfer, which had not yet been approved.

The official allegedly reached out to Olayinka via Facebook Messenger and later shared the document through WhatsApp.

During questioning, Olayinka reportedly stated that he had no prior relationship with the INEC official and was unaware that the document was classified or restricted.

He also maintained that he was not informed that the information was privileged at the time it was shared.

Ongoing Investigation

In addition to the police investigation, the Department of State Services (DSS) is also reportedly probing the incident.

Security sources indicate that the Nigeria Police Force is considering possible charges including criminal conspiracy, cyber offences, unlawful disclosure of classified information, and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.