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National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has again countered the claim by the Department of State Security (DSS) that it attempted to hack into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) database, alleging instead that the invasion of its data centre in Lagos was part of a ploy by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure that next month’s elections are postponed.
DSS had last week accused the APC of an “articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership database as well as hack into INEC’s voters’ registration database through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters’ register across the country”.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who addressed journalists yesterday at the APC Data Centre, said from the manner and timing of the DSS’ findings, it was becoming obvious that the sole aim might be to seek the postponement of the election.
“Apparently, the thinking at the DSS, which is working in cahoots with the PDP, is that its report that the APC plans to hack into the voters’ registration data base of the Independent National Electoral Commission will raise doubts about the integrity of the voters' register to be used for the forthcoming polls, and subsequently force a postponement of the elections since the existing register cannot be used for the polls,” he said.

Mohammed described DSS’ allegation as false, adding that it showed that the agency does not understand the concept of hacking.
Mohammed said unfortunately for DSS and the PDP, "this thinking was based on a wrong premise, as we will show shortly and it has backfired".
APC also accused the security personnel of carting away bags with unused membership registration forms so that they could fraudulently attach pictures of babies and military personnel in order to implicate the party.
The party insisted that the confessions obtained from its workers, who were arrested by the DSS, were secured under duress.
“The workers had guns pointed at their heads by DSS personnel who threatened to shoot them. A pregnant woman among those who were arrested was denied access to her drugs even when she started bleeding due to the torture to which she was subjected by the DSS.
“Before you say our claim is outlandish, remember that some prominent Nigerians have publicly called for the postponement of the election – which can only benefit the Jonathan administration and delay its impending waterloo at the polls.
“Place the calls side by side with the apparently doctored outcome of the DSS investigations and the timing of the report’s release, and you will understand where they are coming from.
“We are not aware that INEC has made a complaint of anyone or group trying to hack into its system. The DSS findings are baseless as INEC’s database is a reflection of the registered members with the permanent voters’ cards (PVCs).
“Please note that at the time of the DSS raids, the PVCs had already been printed. Therefore of what value would it be to hack into the system and input more names?” he asked.
The APC spokesman stressed that it is not possible for the party to hack into the INEC database, adducing several reasons to support the party’s position.
“First, INEC’s database is not online, how then is it possible for anyone to hack into it?  To prevent virus intrusion, there is no internet service at the APC Data Centre that was raided. Therefore it is not possible to hack into INEC’s database.
“The DSS has claimed that hacking tutorials were discovered on an external hard drive. This is a lie! All the USB ports on the PC systems in the office were disabled to prevent virus intrusion. Therefore the use of external hard drives is not allowed at the APC Data Centre.
“If this is so, how is it possible for an external hard drive containing these so-called hacking materials to be found on the premises of the APC data office?
“As we have said, the overall motive of the raid of our offices and the so-called findings is to give the impression that the INEC voters’ register has been corrupted, hence it cannot be used for next month’s elections.
“Now, a more specific question: Why did the DSS break into the APC Data Centre at the time it did?
“It is no coincidence that the DSS raided the APC Data Centre on November 22nd 2014, exactly one week before the start of the PVC distribution exercise on November 28th 2014.
“The reason the DSS came to vandalise our data centre is because the service is working hand-in-hand with the PDP. They carried out the raids to know our party’s strength in terms of membership.
“Please note that after the raids, many of our registered members could not find their names on the list when they went to collect their PVCs. This is not a mere coincidence.
“We will like to tell all Nigerians that the crap called findings is part of the ongoing efforts by the Jonathan administration to postpone next month’s general election.
“Having seen the handwriting on the wall vis-a-vis the growing rejection of the PDP by Nigerians, the Jonathan administration has gone into panic mode, while embarking on a plan to postpone the elections,” he said.