Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Service (DSS) has alleged an elaborate plan by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to inflate its membership data as part of efforts to rig the February 2015 general elections.

Addressing a news conference today in Abuja, spokesperson for the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, said the party also had plans to hack into the voter registration database of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voter register across the country.

She said a search conducted by the service at Number 10 Ajibola Street, Ikeja, Lagos, in November, 2014 was backed by a search warrant as required by law.

“Investigations revealed that the property was being used for illegal voter registration exercise,” she said.

Ogar displayed pictures of persons alleged to have been registered illegally by APC, insisting that Number 10 Ajibola Street never had a signboard, banner or flag indicating that the building was being used by a political party.

She also said one of the items discovered during the operation included a video on how to become a computer hacker.

While APC has filed a lawsuit to challenge the raid and arrest of its members, the DSS says those arrested at the building have been charged to court as further investigation continues.

•Adapted from a Channels TV report. Photo shows DSS spokesperson Marilyn Ogar.