The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a N10 billion fundamental rights suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Justice Salim Ibrahim upheld the preliminary objections of both respondents, holding that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted. The judge also dismissed the substantive claim for lack of proof.
Ike, who sought the House of Representatives seat for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the 2027 elections on the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, had lost the party primary. In May, Olayinka posted on X what Ike described as his confidential voter registration details, including a transfer of registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory. Ike alleged the post mocked him and violated his right to privacy.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, Ike, through his lawyer L. T. Adeh, argued that the publication breached Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 and 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. He claimed INEC owed voters a statutory duty of care to protect their personal data from unauthorised access.
Ike asked the court to declare that Olayinka’s post amounted to a gross breach of his privacy rights and that an INEC press release of June 2 responding to the viral material constituted a tacit admission of liability.
He sought N10 billion in aggravated and general damages against both respondents jointly and severally, an order directing Olayinka to retract the post from his X handle @OlayinkaLere, and a written apology.
INEC, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by Anthonia Makwe, an Assistant Director and Data Protection Officer, maintained that the information in question was neither classified nor confidential. The commission said voter data is displayed and published in line with the Electoral Act, 2026, and that it has the statutory and constitutional authority to make such information available to the public without a voter’s consent. INEC stated that the material posted by Olayinka did not emanate from the commission and that there had been no breach of its secure portal or restricted database. It added that its press release confirmed there was no external breach, hacking or unauthorised access to its ICT infrastructure.
Olayinka, in his own counter-affidavit, said the only details published were Ike’s name and passport photograph, both already in the public domain. He denied accessing the information by unlawful means and argued that he owed Ike no duty of care or confidentiality. Olayinka stated that Ike, having presented himself as a candidate and as a public figure in Nollywood, could not claim trauma from the circulation of material he had himself placed before the public.
He cited Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires INEC to publish the voters’ register no later than 90 days before a general election. Olayinka said he made the post after Ike allegedly led a group that disrupted INEC activities following his declaration of intention to contest, and that the publication was intended to remind the actor of his recent transfer of registration and to draw public attention to the relevant statutory provisions. He described the claim for N10 billion as brought in bad faith and labelled Ike a “gold digger.”
Justice Ibrahim dismissed the suit in its entirety.
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