INEC Declares 1,388 DDC Machines, Other Items Missing

INEC has announced the theft of some Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines, hard disks and computer batteries in the central store of its Lagos State office.

Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, announced this is a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The statement said 9,450 DDC machines were allocated to Lagos for the voter registration in January and February.

“Out of the number, 1,388 DDC machines have been discovered missing.

“A total of 2,986 other DDC machines had their internal hard disks stolen, while 644 DDC machine batteries are missing.”

The statement said the theft was first noticed on October 16, while the quantity of items involved was determined through an in-house audit concluded on October 24.

“Considering the volume, the theft might have taken place unnoticed over a slightly drawn-out period.”

It said the incident had been reported to security agencies for investigation and apprehension of the culprits, as well as possible recovery of the items.

The statement said INEC was making the incident public in line with its principle of transparency and resolve to be upfront with the public on issues pertaining to its operations.

“‘The commission hereby allays all fears over the safety of data gathered with the stolen items, as these data remain secure in its data bank.

“The hard disks have secure back-ups, besides, all the data have been integrated in the Lagos State INEC servers as well as the servers at the national level.

“While investigations by security agencies are on-going, the public is urged to be on the lookout for such with imprint indicating that they could be stolen items being offered for sale.”