Report: How UK firm, Israeli hacker tried to manipulate Nigeria’s 2015 poll to favour Jonathan

An investigation by The Guardian UK has revealed the identity of the Israeli hacker involved with Cambridge Analytical, a defunct British consultancy firm, involved in a plot to manipulate the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria.

According to the investigation, the hacker, who was until now known as “Jorge”, alongside his team, coordinated and worked with Cambridge Analytical in a secret mission to help re-elect Goodluck Jonathan at the time.

In 2018, TheCable reported that a “rich supporter” of Jonathan hired SCL, the parent company of Cambridge Analytical, to paint President Muhammadu Buhari in bad light in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

The report highlighted how the group worked with the Israeli team led by “Jorge” to get the medical and financial records of Buhari in a bid to sway the decision of the electorate regarding the 2015 election.

The investigation by Guardian, which was released on Wednesday, revealed the Israeli hacker to be Tal Hanan, identified as a “hacking and disinformation specialist” who operates “from an industrial park 20 miles outside Tel Aviv”.

“There is no suggestion that Jonathan knew of either Cambridge Analytica or Team Jorge’s ultimately failed attempts to get him re-elected,” the report by The Guardian reads.

“But the emails reveal the covert methods that were used to boost his electoral fortunes and the ways in which two teams specialising in the dark arts of political persuasion liaised with one another, with meetings in London, the Swiss resort of Davos and the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

“Communications appear to have occurred on encrypted Hushmail accounts, or special devices used for secure phone calls.

“Perhaps most significantly, they provide the answer to a mystery that has endured since 2018, when the Guardian and Observer first reported how an “Israeli contractor” had supplied Cambridge Analytica staff working on the Nigerian election with confidential material apparently stolen from the Buhari campaign.”

The report also cites references to hacking of APC members’ phones on the day of the election, with Lai Mohammed, spokesperson of the party at the time, said to be the “target”.

Hanan is also said to have made a reference to “a big scandal”, which contributed to the decision to postpone the 2015 election.

“They extended the election, which was our objective,” Hanan was quoted as saying.