The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says a staff member with authorised access to its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database is under investigation over the unauthorised release of a voter record linked to a candidate in a recent party primary in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued on Tuesday, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said preliminary findings showed there was no external breach of the commission’s database.
According to INEC, its audit trail revealed that the information was accessed through valid credentials assigned to personnel involved in the ongoing voter registration exercise and was released without approval.
The commission stressed that there was no hacking incident or unauthorised external access to its ICT infrastructure. Instead, investigators traced the disclosure to an internal user account with legitimate but restricted access.
Haruna explained that registration officers participating in the nationwide CVR exercise were granted limited access to specific sections of the database for voter registration, transfer requests and record updates. Such access, he said, is strictly for official duties and is withdrawn once the exercise concludes.
INEC disclosed that the audit process has identified the account used to retrieve the record, while relevant personnel have already been questioned as part of the investigation.
The commission said it is examining all technical, administrative and operational aspects of the incident to determine responsibility and establish whether internal access-control procedures were violated.
INEC also sought to reassure Nigerians that the breach was limited to a single voter record and did not affect the personal information of more than 90 million registered voters. It maintained that the integrity of the broader voter registration database remains intact.
The commission further revealed that the Department of State Services (DSS) has launched an independent investigation into the matter. INEC pledged full cooperation with the security agency and warned that anyone found culpable would face prosecution.
It urged the public to avoid speculation while investigations continue, assuring that its final findings and any disciplinary or corrective measures will be made public upon completion of the probe.