History of Lere Olayinka’s arrests revisited as police arrests, questions Wike’s spokesman, detains INEC official over voter data leak

By OUR REPORTER, Abuja

Spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, Mr. Lere Olayinka, has been questioned by the Nigeria Police Force following his arrest over the alleged leak of voter information from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) database.

Sources familiar with the investigation reportedly told TheCable that operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) interrogated Olayinka on Tuesday June 3, 2026 at the Police Headquarters in Abuja.

The probe was said to have focused on allegations of cyber-related offences, unauthorised access to electoral records, and the disclosure of classified national documents.

An INEC official whose identity was not disclosed, was also being held by investigators in connection with the case.

According to sources, the investigation followed a formal complaint lodged on behalf of INEC, alleging criminal conspiracy, cyber intimidation, and the unauthorised release of sensitive electoral information.

The controversy erupted after Lere Olayinka shared screenshots on his X account showing details of Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the FCT.

He posted the information while questioning Ike’s eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in the FCT, following the actor’s criticism of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primary process, a development which threw Olayinka, an official of All Progressives Congress (APC) government, up as unconsciously confirming connection between the NDC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election effort.

The disclosure triggered public backlash, with critics accusing Olayinka of accessing a restricted backend platform reserved for authorised INEC personnel.

Responding to the incident, INEC said there was no evidence of external hacking or a major breach of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database.

The commission maintained that the disclosure resulted from the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials by authorised personnel.

Sources said the detained electoral officer allegedly contacted Olayinka through Facebook Messenger and later sent the voter registration records via WhatsApp.

The official reportedly provided the documents as evidence that Ike had only recently initiated a voter transfer request, which had not yet received approval.

During questioning, Olayinka was said to have told investigators that he had no prior relationship with the electoral officer and was unaware that the documents were classified.

Sources further disclosed that the FCT minister’s spokesperson maintained that the INEC official never informed him that the records were privileged or restricted.

In addition to the police investigation, the Department of State Services (DSS) was also examining the circumstances surrounding the release of the voter data.

Investigators were reportedly considering charges against both Olayinka and the electoral officer, including criminal conspiracy, cyber-related offences, unauthorised disclosure of classified documents, and conduct capable of breaching public peace.

History of Lere Olayinka’s arrests

On Wednesday March 4, 2020, Lere Olayinka, 47, as Spokesman to then Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose having been arrested was arraigned in an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court for alleged N13.5 million fraud.

The defendant, of no fixed address, according to the prosecutor, Insp. Johnson Okunade, committed the offence between 2014 and 2018 at the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State, (BSES) Ilokun in Ado-Ekiti.

He alleged that the defendant, as a public officer abused his office when he failed to remit revenue accrued to the Broadcasting station to the tune of N13.5 million to the cover of Ekiti State Government.

He also alleged that the defendant, being the Director-General of the Broadcasting station, abused his office when he authorised travelling allowance of N7m in his name for journeys not embarked upon (Daily Times 4 March 2020).

Details of how the case could further be traced to the court as this report only traces the history of arrests and arraignment of the man, who is currently spokesman to Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister.

Earlier before then as an aide to ousted Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni, Lere Olayinka was on October 9, 2012 reported by The Nation in a new report titled “Police arrest Oni’s aide for ‘disrupting’ Ekiti teachers’ test”.

The police in Ekiti State reportedly arrested Olayinka for allegedly disrupting the Teachers Development Needs Assessment (TDNA) test at the Ola-Oluwa Muslim Grammar School centre in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. This was as he allegedly led a group of suspected thugs, who threw stones at the teachers in the examination hall.

Police spokesman Victor Babayemi confirmed the arrest. Babayemi said: “As the organ of the government charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order, our men were posted to various centres to ensure that the on-going TDNA is without hitch.

“Consequently, Lere Olayinka was arrested for conducting himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace at a TDNA centre. He is presently being interrogated. The outcome of the interrogation/investigation would determine what the next action would be.

“We reiterate that we are doing our job professionally without sentiments. Anybody who contravenes the law would be made to face the music, irrespective of his/her status or political affinity.”

In a statement, Governor Kayode Fayemi’s media aide, Mr. Olayinka Oyebode, said Lere Olayinka’s arrest had upheld the government’s position that some disgruntled politicians were at the root of various labour crises in the state.

Oyebode said: “The state government raised the alarm recently that some politicians were responsible for various allegations and protests by the National Union of Local Government Employee (NULGE).

“It also alerted the public to plans by some politicians to frustrate the TDNA by spreading falsehood and harassing teachers, who already had the conviction that the test would impact positively on their careers. The arrest has vindicated our position.”