Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have interrogated Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in connection with allegations surrounding the unauthorised disclosure of voter registration details.
The questioning follows concerns raised after actor Emeka Ike’s voter information allegedly appeared online, prompting claims of misuse of access to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) database. INEC has since confirmed it is investigating a possible breach involving its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) system.
Olayinka confirmed his engagement with investigators, stating that he responded to an official invitation. “I was invited on Tuesday. I honoured their invitation,” he said.
In a related statement issued by Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, the commission said its Information and Voter Education Committee, led by National Commissioner Sam Olumekun, had reviewed preliminary findings on the incident. The probe reportedly focuses on how restricted CVR data may have been accessed and circulated, particularly information linked to a candidate in the recent Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) primary in the FCT.
INEC explained that authorised registration officers are granted temporary, role-based access to its voter database for official functions such as registration, transfers, and updates, with access withdrawn after assignments. It added that audit trails had helped identify the account involved, while further investigations continue alongside a separate inquiry reportedly opened by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Meanwhile, Emeka Ike has threatened legal action, insisting his privacy was violated. “Actions are ready; I’m ready to take him on. He has no right to exploit my privacy and insult Nigerians the way he did. If he has been doing it in the past, this should be the last time he does it,” he said during an appearance on The Morning Brief.
