The Nigeria Police Force has interrogated Mr. Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the alleged leak of sensitive voter information from the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Olayinka was reportedly questioned on Tuesday by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) at the Police Headquarters in Abuja as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged cyber-related offences and the unauthorised disclosure of classified electoral records.
Sources familiar with the investigation disclosed that the probe centres on allegations of cyber infractions, misuse of protected databases, and the circulation of confidential national documents.
An electoral officer attached to INEC, whose identity has not been officially disclosed, has also been detained by investigators in connection with the incident.
The investigation followed a formal complaint reportedly lodged on behalf of INEC, alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, and the unlawful release of restricted documents.
The controversy erupted after Olayinka shared screenshots on social media platform X showing details of Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
The FCT minister’s aide had posted the information while questioning Ike’s eligibility to contest a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), following the actor’s protest over the party’s primary election process.
The publication triggered widespread reactions, with many Nigerians raising concerns over how the voter information was obtained and alleging possible unauthorised access to INEC’s protected database.
Responding to the controversy, INEC on Tuesday dismissed reports suggesting that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked or compromised by external actors.
The electoral commission maintained that its database remained secure and attributed the disclosure of Ike’s voter details to the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials by authorised personnel.
According to sources, preliminary findings indicate that the detained INEC official initiated contact with Olayinka and provided him with documents intended to show that Ike’s voter transfer request had only recently been submitted and was yet to receive approval.
The official was said to have first communicated with Olayinka through Facebook Messenger before forwarding the voter registration documents via WhatsApp.
During his interrogation, Olayinka reportedly told investigators that he had no prior relationship with the electoral officer and was unaware of the individual before the exchange.
He also reportedly stated that he did not know the documents were classified and that the INEC official did not indicate that the information was confidential or restricted.
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced a parallel investigation into the circumstances surrounding the release of the voter records.
Security sources disclosed that investigators are considering possible charges against both Olayinka and the electoral officer, including criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unauthorised disclosure of classified information, and actions capable of causing a breach of public peace.
As investigations continue, authorities are expected to determine whether criminal prosecutions will follow and whether additional persons were involved in the unauthorised dissemination of the voter data.
