HEAVY PROBLEM: BUHARI’S MEDICAL RECORDS HACKED? UK AND USA IN TROUBLE – (FULL DETAILS)
HEAVY
PROBLEM: BUHARI’S MEDICAL RECORDS HACKED? UK AND USA IN TROUBLE – (FULL
DETAILS)
Latest
report as A committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the
recent revelation that ahead of the 2015 general election 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 candidate of the All Progressives Congress, had demanded more
information from some countries.
It was
learnt on Monday that the committee had written to the United Kingdom and the
United States of America over the matter.
The
committee was set up to probe the report that suggested that the consulting
firm that combines data mining, brokerage and analysis with strategic
communication for electoral process manipulated Nigeria’s 2007 elections by
organising campaigns to weaken the chances of opposition parties.
The
government set up the in-house committee to investigate whether the firm’s work
for the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in 2007 and 2015
general election campaigns broke the laws of the country or infringed on the
rights of other parties and their candidates.
Depending
on the outcome, the Federal Government is considering appointing a special
investigator and possibly start criminal prosecution by the Attorney-General
and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
A top
Presidency official familiar with the committee’s work told a correspondent on
condition of anonymity on Monday about the panel’s communication with the UK
and the US.
He
said, “You will recall that when the news broke, the government set up
what we called an in-house committee to investigate the matter.
“The
last I heard about that committee was that they have written to the US and the
UK for more information on what happened.
“I am
yet to find out if those countries have responded and the stage which the
committee is now.”
When
contacted on the matter, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media
and Publicity, Garba Shehu, promised to find out the latest on the matter on
his return to Abuja after President Muhammadu Buhari’s ongoing two-day visit to
Jigawa State.
Shehu
had earlier said although he had not been briefed on the issue, it was the
right of Nigerians for the PDP, Facebook and Cambridge Analytical to explain
their roles in the matter.
He had
said, “Nigerians deserve answers immediately from the PDP
administration, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica on how and why they improperly
obtained and used data to interfere in Nigerian elections.
“An
investigation should help to determine if there is a linkage between the
various killings and maimings that have characterised our elections since 2007
and the misinformation activities of the Cambridge Analytica data flows.
“Such
investigations will also help President Buhari to achieve his wish to leave a
legacy of improved elections.”