Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday warned that the unauthorised release of voter data from INEC’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database poses a grave threat to the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
He argued that the breach highlights the vulnerability of Nigeria’s electoral institutions to manipulation even before campaigns have begun.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku noted that while INEC sought to reassure Nigerians that no external hacking occurred, the Commission admitted that sensitive voter information was accessed using valid official credentials and released without authorisation — a concession he said raises more troubling questions than it answers.
“INEC has confirmed that voter information was accessed through credentials assigned to personnel involved in the CVR exercise and released without authority. That admission alone should alarm every Nigerian,” he said.
Atiku stressed that the absence of an external hack does not lessen the seriousness of the incident but instead deepens it, exposing weaknesses in internal controls and raising concerns about possible political interference.
He pointed out that the leaked information was not uncovered by a whistleblower or investigative journalist, but publicly released by Lere Olayinka, spokesman to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
He recalled that only days earlier, Minister Wike had declared with striking certainty that Atiku would not secure more than ten percent of the votes in Rivers State in 2027 — a claim Atiku described as troubling given its confidence and precision.
He questioned whether such confidence was mere political rhetoric or evidence of privileged access to institutions meant to remain neutral.
Atiku insisted that the episode is now a direct test of whether Nigeria’s electoral bodies are truly insulated from partisan influence. He demanded full disclosure of the chain of custody of the compromised data — who accessed it, who requested it, who received it, and how it left INEC’s control.
“The credibility of the 2027 elections will not be decided on election day alone. It is being shaped now by whether institutions demonstrate transparency, accountability, and independence. Nigeria cannot afford to see public confidence in its electoral system eroded before campaigns even begin,” he said.
