Police grill Wike’s aide Lere Olayinka, detain INEC official over voter data leak
Operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) have reportedly grilled Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the alleged leakage of voter information from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) database.
Olayinka was questioned on Tuesday at the Police Headquarters in Abuja as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged cyber infractions, unauthorized database access, and the dissemination of classified electoral documents.
A serving INEC official, whose identity has not been disclosed, has also been detained by investigators in connection with the incident and is reportedly being held at an FID-IRT facility in the FCT.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the probe was triggered by a formal complaint filed on behalf of INEC, alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, and the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive electoral records.
How the controversy started
The controversy began after Olayinka shared screenshots on his X (formerly Twitter) account showing details of Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
He posted the information while questioning Ike’s eligibility to contest a House of Representatives seat in the FCT under the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), following the actor’s protest over the party’s primary election process.
The disclosure sparked public outrage, with many Nigerians accusing Olayinka of obtaining unauthorized access to a password-protected section of INEC’s voter registration system reserved for electoral officials.
In response, INEC dismissed claims that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked, insisting that the incident resulted from the misuse of valid internal credentials by authorized personnel rather than an external cyberattack.
INEC official allegedly supplied voter records
Sources said investigations revealed that the INEC official allegedly initiated contact with Olayinka through Facebook Messenger before forwarding the voter registration records via WhatsApp.
The official was said to have provided the information as evidence that Ike had only recently applied for a voter registration transfer and that the request had yet to receive approval.
During interrogation, Olayinka reportedly told investigators that he had no prior relationship with the electoral officer and did not know him before their online interaction.
The FCT minister’s aide was also said to have maintained that he was unaware the documents were classified and was never informed that the information was confidential.
DSS joins investigation
Apart from the police probe, the Department of State Services (DSS) is also investigating the circumstances surrounding the release of the voter data.
Sources further disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force is considering possible charges against both Olayinka and the detained electoral officer, including criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unlawful dissemination of classified documents, and conduct capable of causing a breach of public peace.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the police authorities nor Olayinka had issued an official statement on the latest developments in the case.