The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has launched an investigation into allegations of unauthorised access and misuse of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database following reports linked to the alleged exposure of a voter’s personal information.
The commission disclosed this in a press statement issued on Tuesday by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
Investigation Commences
INEC said it had commenced a full-scale investigation into the incident to establish how voter information was accessed and disclosed.
According to the commission, preliminary findings show that the matter involved internal access credentials issued to authorised registration officers during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
INEC stressed that these credentials are strictly for official use and are withdrawn after the exercise.
No External Breach Detected
The electoral body clarified that there was no hacking or external breach of its voter database.
It explained that preliminary audit findings indicate that the information was accessed using valid internal credentials but released without authorisation.
“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.
INEC added that the incident involved access to a specific voter record and did not compromise the broader voter registration system or the data of over 90 million registered voters.
DSS Also Investigating
The commission further disclosed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced an independent investigation into the matter.
It assured that it would cooperate fully with security agencies and take disciplinary or legal action against anyone found culpable.
INEC urged the public and media to avoid speculation while investigations continue, promising to update Nigerians once the process is concluded.
The development comes amid public debate over alleged exposure of voter information linked to a political figure in the Federal Capital Territory.