Details of how confidential documents containing the personal information of popular Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike came to the public have emerged.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that detectives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team have questioned Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and detained an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) official over the alleged unauthorised release of a voter’s registration record.
Recall that on May 30, Olayinka posted on X that Emeka Ike had only recently transferred his voter registration from Imo State to the FCT on May 15, 2026, questioning his eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in Abuja.
The post was accompanied by images that social media users immediately flagged as being sourced from INEC’s restricted administrative portal.
Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the investigation was made following a petition.
The detained official, identified as an electoral officer with INEC assigned to the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), is under investigation for allegedly leaking the restricted voter registration records in connection with a political controversy that emerged during a party primary election.
According to security sources, the case was escalated to the police by a top security aide to the INEC chairman, who petitioned the authorities over allegations of criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, the leaking of classified documents, and conduct likely to breach public peace.
“We have had the Electoral Officer for the Abuja Municipal Area Council in our custody since yesterday,” The Punch quoted a police source.
“Also, Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was invited and questioned over the Emeka Ike matter.
“A top security aide to the INEC chairman petitioned the police over allegations of criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, the leaking of classified documents, and conduct likely to breach public peace, all of which are connected to the Emeka Ike case,”
The incident began on May 29, 2026, when a group of political actors staged a protest at the INEC AMAC office, alleging irregularities in an ongoing primary election.
“The leak occurred on May 29, 2026, when a group of political actors spearheading a protest under a political party banner blocked the exit gate of the INEC AMAC office with vehicles, behaving aggressively and alleging irregularities in an ongoing primary election.
“Following the hostility, the AMAC Electoral Officer discovered through administrative channels that one of the primary actors leading the aggressive protest, identified as Emeka Ike, a popular Nollywood actor, had only recently initiated a voters’ registration transfer from Imo State, an application that had not even been officially approved by the commission.”
Angered by the blockade, the Electoral Officer allegedly bypassed standard commission protocols and extracted the data directly from official systems to share it with the FCT minister’s aide.
“Angered by the blockade of his office, the Electoral Officer, instead of following official protocols, instructed a subordinate staff member under him to capture a screenshot of the applicant’s confidential data directly from the INEC Voter Enrolment Device.
“The Electoral Officer subsequently spoke with the FCT minister’s spokesman on Facebook Messenger. They moved on to chat on WhatsApp, where the classified voter registration document was sent to Wike’s aide,”
In his statement to investigators, Olayinka admitted that he had posted videos of the political protest at the AMAC office on his social media platforms before being contacted by the aggrieved INEC official.
“In his statement, Olayinka admitted that he had posted a video of the political protest at the AMAC office on his social media pages.
“He explained that the AMAC Electoral Officer, whom he did not previously know, contacted him via Facebook Messenger to vent his anger that INEC was being blackmailed by protesters who were not even validly registered voters in the FCT.
“Olayinka admitted that the INEC official promised to send proof of the temporary voter’s card, which was subsequently delivered via WhatsApp.”
Following the public uproar generated by the leak, the electoral officer reportedly deleted portions of the WhatsApp conversation. However, the source added that “forensic analysis recovered the deleted communications.”
While the INEC official remains in custody, Olayinka has been granted administrative bail.
