INEC data leak puts 2027 election credibility on trial — Atiku

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday warned that the unauthorised disclosure of voter information from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s INEC Continuous Voter Registration CVR database has placed the credibility of the 2027 general election under serious threat.

According to him, the incident has exposed the vulnerability of Nigeria’s electoral institutions to political manipulation before campaigns have even properly commenced.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said while INEC had attempted to reassure Nigerians that no external hacking occurred, the Commission had in the same breath admitted that sensitive voter information was accessed through valid official credentials and released without authorisation — a concession he said raised more troubling questions than it resolved.

“INEC’s statement has moved this issue beyond conjecture. The Commission has now confirmed that voter information was accessed through credentials assigned to personnel participating in the ongoing CVR exercise and that such information was released without authority. That admission alone should concern every Nigerian,” he said.

Atiku argued that the absence of an external hack did not reduce the gravity of the incident but deepened it, pointing to unresolved questions about internal controls, institutional safeguards, and the possibility of deliberate political interference.

“What makes this entire episode impossible to ignore is that the information in question did not emerge from a whistleblower, an investigative journalist, or an anti-corruption agency. It was publicly released by Mr. Lere Olayinka, spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

“Only days before this controversy erupted, Minister Wike publicly declared with remarkable certainty that Atiku Abubakar would not secure up to ten percent of the votes in Rivers State in the 2027 presidential election. It was an astonishing claim. Not because politicians are forbidden from making predictions, but because of the confidence, precision, and finality with which it was delivered,” he said.

He asked whether that confidence was mere political theatre or evidence of something far more troubling — that certain political actors believe they enjoy privileged access to institutions the constitution requires to remain neutral.

Atiku said the episode had become a direct test of whether Nigeria’s electoral institutions are genuinely insulated from partisan influence, and demanded the full chain of custody of the accessed information — who retrieved it, who requested it, who received it, and how it left INEC’s custody.

“The credibility of the 2027 election will not be determined solely on election day. It is being shaped right now by the willingness of institutions to demonstrate transparency, accountability, and independence. Nigeria cannot afford a situation where confidence in electoral institutions is weakened before campaigns have even properly commenced”, he said.

While welcoming INEC’s disclosure that it had identified the specific user account involved and that relevant personnel had been questioned, Atiku said identifying a user account was only a beginning. He also welcomed the Department of State Services’ (DSS) independent investigation but made clear that Nigerians would hold it to an exacting standard.

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