Jeff Hadn't

THE BACKDOOR IS OPEN: How APC is Entering INEC's Secret Database The lie that INEC is independent has finally been exposed. It did not happen because a whistleblower spoke out or because of a big investigation. It happened because APC operatives are now so proud of their power that they do not even care about hiding their tracks. To mock actor Emeka Ike because he transferred his voter registration from Imo State to Abuja, an APC apologist, Lere went online to share screenshots. But he made a big mistake. He did not just share a rumor; he shared clear screenshots taken from inside the secret, password-protected backend database of INEC. For an ordinary person, the pictures look like normal registration slips. But if you look closely at the top of the browser tab, the web address shows cvradmin.inecnigeria.org. Let this sink in very well. This cvradmin is not a public website. It is not the place where you and I go to check our voter cards. It is the highly restricted, internal database meant ONLY for INEC ICT officials and data managers. Yet, an APC member has the password to enter inside, see a citizen's secret tracking number, check his private details, and look at internal system steps. This shows us two scary things: First, it means INEC has completely sold out. They have handed over their secret passwords to APC boys so they can spy on citizens' data whenever they want. Second, it means INEC’s computer security is totally broken. Their database has an open door where politicians can easily enter to pack, track, and change the data of over 90 million Nigerian voters. If you think this is just a fight between big politicians, you are wrong. If the ruling party can sit in their house, log into INEC’s backend, and track who is transferring their PVC, exactly when they applied, and where they are moving to, then no opposition strategy is safe. Your privacy as a citizen does not exist. This explains the magic numbers we always see during elections. When a political party has access to the computer backend, they can trace where voters are moving to. They can target specific transfers and reject them, stop registrations in areas where people do not like them, and fix the election results long before the election day. By using private data to bully people, they have proved what Nigerians have been saying all along: INEC and APC are using the exact same server room. This is a big crime under the Nigeria Data Protection Act and it threatens our national security. INEC cannot just release one useless press statement to blame "glitch." The Data Protection Commission must launch a proper investigation immediately to find out the exact INEC staff whose password was used to leak this file. Also, the INEC insiders who gave out the password and the politicians who used it must be arrested and sent to jail under the Cybercrimes Act. The battle for Nigerian democracy is no longer just about guarding ballot boxes at the polling units. The real war is now inside the INEC computers. If INEC has given its keys to the ruling party, then a free and fair election in Nigeria is a total lie. INEC Chairman must tell the nation the truth: Why is APC managing your backend?