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Benue APC Seeks Arrest, Trial Of INEC Website Hackers

By Joseph Wantu, Makurdi.
07 February 2015   |   7:05 pm
THE All Progressives Party (APC), Benue State Chapter, has called for the immediate arrest and trial of hackers who invaded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), database to replace candidates’ names.    The party alleged that the infiltration of INEC’s database by hackers, who illegally replaced the name of its candidate for Kwande West State…

THE All Progressives Party (APC), Benue State Chapter, has called for the immediate arrest and trial of hackers who invaded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), database to replace candidates’ names.

   The party alleged that the infiltration of INEC’s database by hackers, who illegally replaced the name of its candidate for Kwande West State constituency, Mr. Joseph Boko, with incumbent legislator, Benjamin Nungwa was not in the spirit of the party.

   In a letter of complaint, a copy of which was made available to The Guardian yesterday, in Makurdi, the party’s chairman, Mr. Abba Yaro, called for the immediate arrest of the offenders.

    The contents of the letter revealed that the perpetrators hacked into the website of INEC and altered its database to include the name of incumbent legislator, who was defeated by Boko at the party primaries in December 2014.

   Yaro, described the act as an illegality and called on the law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter and bring the culprits to book.

   “The perpetrators of this illegality should be arrested and treated as true criminals as the party is not responsible for this illegal change of name. The sudden appearance of the name of Hon. Benjamin Nungwa, on your website dated 27/01/2015 is illegal and unacceptable as we are fully aware of the procedures needed for change.

   “We are also aware that the time for candidate substitution is over, furthermore, if a change had to take place, we should have notified the necessary authorities appropriately.”

   The Guardian learnt that Boko had defeated two others including incumbent state legislator, Nungwa at the APC primaries and had also passed the APC screening as well as being issued a certificate of clearance for the general elections.

   Reacting to the alleged change of name, Boko called on INEC to fortify its website to secure its database against criminals. He said it was important for the commission to do so considering the easy manner in which the hackers removed his name and replaced it with Nungwa, whom he had defeated at the primaries.

   According to him, it is important for them to fortify their website to prevent suspected criminals from hacking to change election results.

  Boko said he had earlier written a letter to INEC stressing that he had no intention of withdrawing from the race and urged the electoral body to disregard any letter either for or on his behalf.

   When contacted on the matter, the Administrative Secretary of INEC, SalihuYa’u, said the commission was yet to receive the letter of complaint from the party even as he admitted that the time stipulated for substitution had already elapsed.

 When contacted, Nungwa, the incumbent legislator, representing Kwande West state constituency, said the National Working Committee of the party properly sent his name to INEC.

 He maintained that the party took the decision to replace his name instead of that of Boko, on the strength of the recommendations of the party’s appeal panel, which investigated the petitions against the election.

  Nungwa said it was the decision of the panel to declare him winner after invalidating all the counterfoils used for the election.

   He denied hacking into the website of INEC to effect any change, advising the chairman of the party to always cross-check facts with the party’s national body before sending out official correspondences on such matters.

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