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.
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.