Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has warned that the unauthorised disclosure of voter information from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) database poses a serious threat to the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Reacting to the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged leak of voter registration information from INEC’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database, Atiku said the incident has exposed vulnerabilities within Nigeria’s electoral system and raised concerns about the neutrality and integrity of key democratic institutions.
According to a statement issued by his media aide, Atiku argued that while INEC has maintained that there was no external hacking of its systems, the commission’s admission that voter information was accessed through authorised credentials and subsequently released without approval raises troubling questions about internal controls and data protection mechanisms.
The former vice president maintained that the issue goes beyond a simple data breach and has become a test of public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 polls. He called for a comprehensive investigation into how the information was obtained, who authorised access to it, and how it eventually entered the public domain.
Atiku further stated that the credibility of future elections would depend not only on what happens on election day but also on the transparency, accountability, and independence demonstrated by institutions responsible for managing the electoral process.
His comments come amid an ongoing investigation by INEC and the Department of State Services (DSS) into the unauthorised disclosure of voter information, following concerns about access to sensitive records within the commission’s database.
At the time of filing this report, investigations into the incident were still ongoing, while political stakeholders continue to debate its implications for electoral integrity and public trust in Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
