Police questioned Wike’s aide, arrested INEC official over alleged voter data leak

Police officers have reportedly interrogated Lere Olayinka, assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, and detained an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged leak of voter registration records.

The operatives of the Department of Force Intelligence – Intelligence Response Team are said to have acted on the petition filed by the security aide to the INEC chairman.

A source revealed that the petition to the police which alleged criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, leaking of confidential documents and acts potentially violating public order were all related to the case involving Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike.

The source further revealed that the probe was triggered by a petition alleging cyber-related offenses and unauthorized disclosure of confidential documents containing the actor’s personal information.

Sources said the arrested official, an electoral officer with INEC attached to the Abuja City Area Council, was being investigated for allegedly disclosing secret voter registration records in connection with a political controversy that emerged during the party primaries.

“In addition, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was invited and questioned regarding the Emeka Ike issue,” said a source.

According to security sources, the incident began on May 29, 2026, when protesters gathered at the INEC office at AMAC, alleging irregularities in the ongoing primary elections.

The source said following the protest, the AMAC election officer checked the INEC portal and accessed Emeka Ike’s details, adding that the official directed his subordinates to obtain a screenshot of the applicant’s details from the INEC Voter Registration Toolkit.

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“The leak occurred on May 29, 2026, when a group of political actors spearheading the protest under the banner of a political party blocked the exit of the INEC AMAC office with vehicles, behaving aggressively and alleging irregularities in the ongoing primary elections.

“Following the hostilities, AMAC Electoral Officials discovered through administrative channels that one of the main actors leading the aggressive protests, identified as Emeka Ike, a popular Nollywood actor, had recently initiated the transfer of voter registration from Imo State, an application that has not even been officially approved by the commission.”

The source added that the information was shared with Olayinka after the two men established contact via Facebook Messenger before continuing their conversation on WhatsApp.

“Angered by the blockade of his office, the Electoral Officer, instead of following official protocol, instructed his subordinate staff members to take screenshots of confidential applicant data directly from the INEC Voter Registration Device.

“The Electoral Officer then spoke to the FCT minister’s spokesperson on Facebook Messenger. They continued the chat on WhatsApp, where confidential voter registration documents were sent to Wike’s aide,” the source said.

When contacted, Olayinka confirmed that he had been invited and complied with the invitation.

The controversy started on May 30 when Olayinka posted on X that actor and politician Emeka Ike had just moved his voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.

In the post, Olayinka questioned Ike’s suitability to contest for the House of Representatives seat in Abuja, stating that the actor had transferred his registration to the FCT on May 15, 2026.

Olayinka attached two images to the post, which sparked criticism from social media users who accused the document of containing information sourced from INEC’s restricted administrative portal.

After the disclosure, Ike accused Olayinka of disclosing his personal data and stated that he was ready to take legal action over the alleged violation.

This incident then drew reactions from, among others, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.