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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended an electoral officer allegedly linked to the unauthorised disclosure of voter registration data, as investigations by security agencies and data protection regulators continue.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the suspension on Thursday during a fireside chat on the recently concluded Ekiti governorship election organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in Abuja.
The controversy followed the circulation of voter registration details belonging to actor and politician Emeka Ike during a dispute arising from a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), raising concerns over the security of voter information.
INEC said it immediately launched an investigation into the incident and established that its ICT infrastructure was not hacked and the national voter register was not compromised.
According to the commission, preliminary findings showed that the information was accessed using valid login credentials assigned to personnel involved in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise before it was unlawfully disclosed.
The commission said its internal audit trail identified the specific user account used to retrieve the record, leading investigators to the officer concerned.
Haruna disclosed that the official has been suspended and removed from duty pending the outcome of investigations by the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS) and relevant data protection authorities.
"As soon as this happened, we took immediate steps. The officer involved is under suspension and no longer functions in that office," he said.
He added that INEC had concluded its internal investigation and that the officer admitted involvement in the incident, allegedly citing personal grievances from previous dealings with political actors.
Haruna said the commission had referred the matter to the police, the DSS and data protection regulators for further action, adding that final disciplinary measures would be determined after their reports are received.
Despite the breach, Haruna maintained that the incident involved only a single voter record and did not affect the personal information of more than 90 million registered voters in the commission's database.
He stressed that the case should not be interpreted as evidence of systemic weaknesses in INEC's data management system, noting that the commission continues to strengthen safeguards to protect voter information.
Haruna also called for greater public understanding of how voter data is collected, stored and managed, saying increased awareness would help counter misinformation and boost confidence in the electoral process ahead of future elections.
