The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended an electoral officer allegedly linked to the unauthorised disclosure of voter registration details belonging to Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike.

INEC disclosed on Thursday that investigations into the incident are ongoing, with security agencies and data protection regulators examining the circumstances surrounding the breach.

The Commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, made the disclosure during a fireside chat organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) in Abuja.

The controversy emerged after Emeka Ike’s voter registration information surfaced online amid a dispute connected to a political party primary election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to INEC, preliminary findings indicate that its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure was not hacked and that there was no compromise of the national voter register.

Instead, the Commission said the data was allegedly accessed using legitimate login credentials assigned to officials participating in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and was subsequently disclosed without authorisation.

INEC explained that its audit trail system enabled investigators to trace the access to a specific user account, leading to the identification and questioning of personnel with access to the platform.

The electoral body said the suspension of the officer is part of ongoing efforts to ensure accountability while investigations continue.