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Police Interrogate, May Charge FCT Minister’s Spokesman, Lere Olayinka, over voter data leak

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4 months ago

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Lere Olayinka, media aide to FCT minister Nyesom Wike, has been grilled by the police over the leak of voter data from the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Investigators from the Force Intelligence Department – Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) quizzed Olayinka on Tuesday at the Police Headquarters in the FCT.

The interrogation is part of the probe into “cyber infractions, unauthorised database misuse, and the leaking of classified national documents”, a source privy to the investigation disclosed.

A yet-to-be-identified electoral officer has also been detained at the FID-IRT facility in the FCT over the matter.

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TheCable understands that the investigation was prompted by a formal complaint filed on behalf of INEC, alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, and leak of classified documents.

Olayinka had shared screenshots on X a few days ago, showing details of Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo state to the nation’s capital city.

He posted the information while questioning the actor-turned-politician’s eligibility to contest a house of representatives seat in the FCT, following the latter’s recent protest over the primaries of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Olayinka’s post sparked outrage, with many Nigerians accusing him of gaining unauthorised access to a password-protected backend system meant only for INEC officials.

In a statement on Tuesday, INEC dismissed claims of a major breach or external hacking of its continuous voter registration (CVR) database.

The electoral umpire attributed the unauthorised disclosure of Ike’s voter information to the “misuse” of valid internal credentials by authorised personnel.

The electoral officer reportedly initiated contact with Olayinka to provide him with “evidence” to prove that Ike had only recently initiated a voter registration transfer, and that it was yet to be approved.

The INEC official was said to have engaged Olayinka on Facebook Messenger, after which he shared the “classified voter registration document” via WhatsApp.

During interrogation, Olayinka reportedly said he had no previous relationship with, or knowledge of, the electoral officer.

The minister’s spokesperson, sources said, explained that he was not aware that the documents were classified, and the INEC official did not inform him that it was privileged information.

Aside from the police probe, the Department of State Services (DSS) is also investigating the release of the voter data.

It was reported that the Nigeria Police Force is considering charging Olayinka and the electoral officer with criminal conspiracy, cyber infractions, sharing of classified documents, and breach of peace.
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