All you need to know about the data firm's role in Nigeria's 2015 presidential election

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018,

The articles revealed how the data firm was hired to be a part of Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign in 2015.

The articles published by The Guardian is part of a global scandal on how Cambridge Analytica has influenced elections in several countries around the world.

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Here is all you need to know about Cambridge Analytica and its involvement in the 2015 presidential election.

1. In December 2014, a senior director of Cambridge Analytica Brittany Kaiser was approached by an unnamed Nigerian billionaire to join the Goodluck Jonathan presidential campaign. The billionaire paid the data firm £2M to be a part of the campaign.

2. Cambridge Analytica worked with Israeli hackers who were instructed to get dirt on Muhammadu Buhari during the presidential campaign.

3. The Cambridge Analytica team were lodged in a hotel in Abuja a few weeks to the presidential election and worked on a communications campaign for Goodluck Jonathan.

4. The Israeli intelligence operatives who worked with Cambridge Analytica during this period claimed that France and Israel wanted Goodluck Jonathan to win the presidential election.

5. The Cambridge Analytica team came up with a video to portray Buhari as a leader who would enforce Sharia Law in Nigeria. It was intended to sway the minds of millions of Nigerians and vote for the PDP candidate.

6. Shortly before the election, the Cambridge Analytica team in Nigeria had to leave the country after its safety was compromised due to sensitive information got by the Israeli operatives.

7. According to The Guardian UK, Goodluck Jonathan did not know about the role Cambridge Analytica played in his failed 2015 re-election bid.

Nigeria is not the only African country Cambridge Analytica meddled in its election. The data company influenced the re-election of President during the 2017 general election according to the expose by Channel 4 News.

In an undercover investigation titled: Cambridge Analytica Uncovered: Secret filming reveals election tricks, the firm’s top bosses admit to being the key drivers of Mr Kenyatta’s campaigns.

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Alex Taylor, Cambridge’s Chief Data Officer and Managing Director Mark Turnbull were caught on tape detailing the role they played in Kenya’s elections.

Mr Turnbull disclosed that they entered into a contract with President Kenyatta party in 2013 and continued during 2017 election when he vied for a second term.