Olusola Fabiyi, Olalekan Adetayo, Eniola Akinkuotu and Olaleye Aluko
The Federal Government has commenced an investigation into the recent revelation that ahead of the 2015 general elections, a Nigerian billionaire and supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan paid £2m to Cambridge Analytica, to hack into the medical records of President Muhammadu Buhari, then the candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
The government is also probing the report which suggested that the consulting firm that combines data mining, brokerage and analysis with strategic communications for electoral process manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 elections by organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.
A presidency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed this to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Sunday.
“The government of Nigeria is scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm, Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries, including Nigeria, where it waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari,” the source said.
He said the government had set up what he called an in-house committee to investigate whether the firm’s work for the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in the 2007 and 2015 electioneering broke the laws of the country or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates.
“Depending on the outcome, it can lead to the appointment of a special investigator and possibly, criminal prosecutions by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN),” the Presidency official added.
When contacted on the matter, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said he had not been briefed on the issue.
Shehu, however, said it was the rights of Nigerians for the PDP, Facebook and Cambridge Analytical to explain their roles in the matter.
The presidential spokesman said he was of the view that a proper investigation would reveal if there were correlations between the violence that characterised past elections in the country and the revelation.
He said, “Nigerians deserve answers from the PDP, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica on how and why they improperly obtained and used data to interfere in Nigerian elections.
“An investigation should help to determine if there is a linkage between the various killings and maiming that have characterised our elections since 2007 and the misinformation activities of the Cambridge Analytica.
“Such investigation will also help President Buhari to achieve his wish to leave a legacy of improved elections.”
A former employee of Cambridge Analytica, Christopher Wylie, had told British lawmakers how an Israeli spy firm, ‘Black Cube,’ was “engaged to hack into Buhari accounts to get access to his medical records and private emails.”
Cambridge Analytica had earlier been reported to have been hired by an unnamed Nigerian billionaire to support the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election in which Buhari was his main contender.
According to reports, SCL Elections, a public relations firm that later became Cambridge Analytica, manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 elections by organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.
As part of its engagement, the company was said to have organised “anti-election rallies” to demoralise supporters of opposition parties from voting in the elections, which saw the emergence of Umar Yar’Adua as the Nigeria’s President.
The Cambridge Analytica team reportedly came up with a video that portrayed Buhari as a leader who would enforce Sharia Law in Nigeria with the intention to sway the minds of millions of Nigerians and persuade them to vote for the PDP candidate.
Currently, the Cambridge Analytica and Facebook are the focus of an inquiry into data and politics by the British Information Commissioner’s Office, the United States Special Counsel, Robert Mueller. The UK Electoral Commission is also investigating the role Cambridge Analytica played in the EU referendum.
Extend probe to Buhari’s 2015 campaign funds – PDP
The PDP said the All Progressives Congress and the Federal Government were chasing shadows in their proposed investigation.
It added that they were desperate to implicate the opposition in the alleged hacking into the records of Buhari.
The party said while it accepted an open investigation into the Cambridge Analytica saga, it wanted such inquest to be extended to cover the sources of the funds spent on the President’s campaign in 2015.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday said the APC was merely seeking to divert public attention from its alleged failures and scandals.
He said it was already public knowledge that the PDP and any of its officials or members were never linked or indicted in any way in the saga.
He said, “It is also public knowledge that the document being relied upon by the APC stated that, ‘there is no suggestion that Jonathan knew of the covert operation.’
“We are therefore aware that this new agenda is to divert public attention from the various scandalous allegations hanging on the neck of the Buhari presidency, including the use of looted funds to finance his 2015 Presidential election, the Martin Luther King award saga, the damaging Bill Gates verdict on Buhari’s economic policies, as well as the numerous financial scandals in the NNPC under his watch.
“This inquest should therefore be completely open and independent of the government control, so that Nigerians will know the truth, not only on the Cambridge Analytica saga, but also on the source of the funds for the President’s 2015 campaign and other sleazes under his watch.”
Presidency dissipating energy – CDHR
On its part, a civil society organisation, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, said that the presidency was not using its energy in the right direction, noting that the Cambridge Analytica investigation was not as pressing as other concerns in the country.
The CDHR President, Malachy Ugwummadu, said, “It is not worth dissipating energy on. The presidency must not be found to be bothered with issues such as the Cambridge Analytica allegation, when there are more pressing issues facing the country.
“One of such is the Federal Government’s investigation into the alarm raised by a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. T.Y. Danjuma. Another is the release of more names of alleged looters of our public treasury. These are developments that Nigerians want to see from the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and not an investigation into a firm’s alleged act in 2015.
“Under the law and as provided for in the constitution, although the executive arm has immunity and cannot be sued in the discharge of its duties, it can sue anyone if it feels its rights to privacy and other rights have been breached. So, the Presidency can sue the firm, but it must make sure its house is tidy before embarking on a legal action.”
It’s a step in the right direction – Sagay
In his reaction, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said the probe was a step in the right direction.
Sagay, however, stated that he was not sure if Nigeria’s laws made provision for such violation of privacy.
He said, “Probably, we can call it a very serious violation of privacy. Morally, it is very wrong but I cannot tell you the legal implications off the cuff. But I would be very surprised if our laws don’t have a provision that covers such a violation.”
Reacting to a question on the opening of the investigation nearly three years after the alleged act took place; Sagay said people should understand that the revelations only came to light recently.
The PACAC chairman added, “The government only just found out. These people were doing this all over the world and circulating misinformation and breaching people’s privacy for money.”
Sagay said Nigeria’s laws would need to be amended to suit current realities and challenges if there is no provision for prosecution of those who meddle in election affairs.
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