Gbajabiamila denies owning Abuja property where men thought to be hacking Inec server were caught

HOUSE of Representatives speaker Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has denied being the owner of an Abuja building where engineers were caught seeking to hack into the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS)  server.

Last Saturday, Nigeria went to the polls to elect a new president and as part of the new innovations introduced to combat electoral fraud, Inec introduced the use of BVAS machines. However, several men were arrested on Saturday at a building located on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja, trying to hack into the Inec server that stores the data from the BVAS machines.

It has been suggested that Hon Gbajabiamila owned the building where the men were arrested but he has issued a statement denying this. In a statement which he personally signed, the speaker declared For the record: I do not own property on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja.

Hon Gbajabiamila said: “A few days ago, while the collation process for the presidential election, which was held on Saturday, 25 February, 2023, was ongoing, social media posts made by some unscrupulous people suggested that some persons were arrested with electoral materials, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and that the property where the purported persons were arrested belongs to me.

“I wish to put it on record that I do not own any property on 15 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja. Besides, the Nigeria Police Force has debunked the news via a press release by the force public relations officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi.”

“I urge the public to disregard the allegation that I own the said property. At a time when fake news gains public attention on social media within the shortest time, it became necessary to issue this press release to set the record straight, else some people among the public would believe such brazen lies spread by purveyors of fake news."

Mr Adejobi’s statement had read: “Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Bureau, acting on a tip from residents of an area in Maitama who reported suspicious activities, visited the location, interviewed the occupants and conducted a search on the house. In the course of the search, some electoral materials and BVAS machines were discovered in their possession.

“However, the Independent National Electoral Commission, when contacted, confirmed that the occupants of the house are staff of Emperor Technology, outsourcing engineering services to Inec. They were immediately released to go about their lawful business.”