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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has launched an investigation into allegations of unauthorised access to its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database after information linked to a candidate from a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was published.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC said it was addressing the matter and had already begun a detailed investigation.
“The commission takes this allegation seriously and has immediately commenced a thorough investigation to establish the facts surrounding the incident,” the statement said.
INEC explained that authorised registration officers participating in the ongoing CVR exercise were granted limited access to parts of the registration system for official duties such as voter registration, transfers and record updates.
According to the commission, preliminary findings from its audit trail helped identify the user account through which the information was accessed.
INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION
PRESS STATEMENT
RE: ALLEGED MISUSE OF AUTHORISED ACCESS CREDENTIALS AND UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FROM THE COMMISSION’S CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION (CVR) DATABASE
The attention of the Independent National Electoral… pic.twitter.com/eefQvPoB6o
— INEC Nigeria (@inecnigeria) June 2, 2026
“The audit trail from the preliminary investigation has enabled the Commission to identify the user account through which the information was accessed,” INEC stated.
The commission said relevant personnel had been questioned and all units connected to the incident were cooperating with investigators. INEC also stressed that its preliminary findings showed there was no external cyberattack on its systems.
“Preliminary findings from the Commission’s audit trail so far indicate that there was no external breach of the CVR database, no hacking incident, and no unauthorised external access to the Commission’s ICT infrastructure,” the statement said.
The electoral body added that the information was accessed using valid user credentials assigned to officials involved in the voter registration exercise but was released without proper authorisation.
INEC further noted that the incident involved a single voter record and did not affect the personal data of more than 90 million registered voters.
“The incident under investigation relates to the retrieval of a specific voter record and does not indicate any compromise of the Commission’s broader voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters,” it added.
The commission reaffirmed its commitment to protecting voter information and maintaining the integrity of its systems. INEC also disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has independently launched an investigation into the matter.
The controversy followed the publication by Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, of what appeared to be voter registration details belonging to actor and politician Emeka Ike.
Reacting on Tuesday, Ike described the disclosure of his personal information as disturbing and criticised the action as political recklessness. INEC has urged the public to avoid speculation while investigations continue and promised to make its findings public when the process is concluded.
