The Federal High Court in Abuja, has dismissed a ₦10bn fundamental rights lawsuit filed by Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Key Highlights
- Federal High Court in Abuja dismisses Emeka Ike’s ₦10bn suit against Lere Olayinka and INEC.
- Justice Salim Ibrahim upholds the respondents’ preliminary objections and dismisses the case for lack of proof.
- Ike accused Olayinka of violating his privacy by posting his voter registration details on X.
- INEC says the information was not confidential and did not come from its database.
Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the case on Wednesday, after upholding preliminary objections raised by the respondents challenging the competence of the suit.
The court also dismissed the substantive case for lack of proof. Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy by sharing his voter registration details on his X account in May.
The actor alleged that the post exposed his personal information, including details of the transfer of his voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
Through his lawyer, L.T. Adeh, Ike filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, seeking ₦10bn in general and aggravated damages against Olayinka and INEC.
The actor had sought to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), but lost the party’s primary election.
What Ike Asked The Court
In his suit, Ike asked the court to declare that publishing his voter registration details without his consent violated his constitutional right to privacy and the protection of personal data.
He relied on 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, in support of his claims.
He also asked the court to declare that INEC had a statutory duty to protect the personal information of registered voters from unauthorised access.
Additionally, Ike argued that INEC’s June 2 statement responding to the circulation of his voter information on social media amounted to an admission of liability.
He sought an order compelling Olayinka to delete the disputed post from his X account, @OlayinkaLere, and issue a written apology.
INEC’s Defence
INEC and Olayinka opposed the suit, maintaining that the publication did not violate Ike’s fundamental rights.
In its counter-affidavit, INEC argued that the information in question was neither classified nor confidential and that the commission had legal authority to make certain details in the voters’ register available to the public.
The commission’s response was deposed to by Anthonia Makwe, an assistant director and data protection officer in its Legal Drafting and Clearance Department.
INEC maintained that its constitutional and statutory responsibilities covered the compilation, maintenance, display, publication, certification and management of the voters’ register under the Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission also denied that the information allegedly shared by Olayinka originated from its database, insisting that it had not breached its obligation to protect voters’ information within its secured portal and restricted database.
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Olayinka: Information Was Already Public
Olayinka similarly denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the document he posted contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he claimed were already publicly available.
He maintained that he had not obtained the material unlawfully and was not bound by any duty of confidentiality requiring him to seek Ike’s consent before publishing it.
The FCT minister’s aide also argued that Ike’s status as a public figure and his stated intention to contest an election undermined his claim that the circulation of his name and photograph had caused him trauma.
According to Olayinka, the post followed an alleged incident in which Ike led a group of hoodlums to INEC’s office to disrupt its activities after declaring his political ambition.
Olayinka said his intention was to draw attention to the actor’s recent transfer of his voter registration area and the relevant provisions of the electoral law.
He cited Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, arguing that INEC was required to publish the voters’ register within the period prescribed by law before a general election.
He also relied on INEC’s June 2 statement, which said there had been no external breach of its continuous voter registration database, hacking incident or unauthorised access to its information technology infrastructure.
The statement, as reproduced in Olayinka’s counter-affidavit, read: “There was no external breach of its CVR database, no hacking incident and no unauthorised external access to the commission’s ICT infrastructure.”
Olayinka further argued that he was not a data controller under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and therefore had no statutory obligation to protect Ike’s information in the manner alleged.
Rejecting the actor’s demand for damages, he described the ₦10bn claim as being made in bad faith, alleging that Ike was seeking to profit from the dispute.
He urged the court to dismiss the case, insisting that he should not be held liable for publishing information he maintained was already accessible to the public.
The court ultimately dismissed Ike’s suit, bringing the legal challenge against Olayinka and INEC to an end at the Federal High Court.
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