A federal high court in Abuja has dismissed a N10 billion lawsuit filed by actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, senior special assistant to Nyesom Wike—the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)—and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ike had accused Olayinka and INEC of violating his fundamental right to privacy.
Emeka Ike, who sought to contest the AMAC/Bwari federal constituency seat in Abuja in the 2027 general elections under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), lost in the party’s primary. The dispute arose after Olayinka published details from the INEC database on social media, specifically highlighting Ike’s transfer of voter registration from Imo State to Abuja. Olayinka used the information to question Ike’s eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in Abuja.
Ike’s legal team described the disclosure as a serious breach of privacy and a potential threat to national security, sparking widespread concern about the safety of Nigeria’s electoral database. Many Nigerians on social media accused Olayinka of accessing a password-protected INEC system reserved for officials. INEC, however, denied any large-scale security breach or external hacking of its continuous voter registration (CVR) database.
In his suit, Ike sought a court declaration that Olayinka’s publication of his voter information on X (formerly Twitter) without his consent constituted a gross violation of his privacy and data protection rights. He also asked the court to recognize INEC’s June 2 press release as an admission of responsibility for the data disclosure, to order Olayinka to delete the post, issue a retraction, and provide a written apology. Additionally, Ike sought N10 billion in aggravated and general damages from Olayinka and INEC, jointly and severally.
INEC and Olayinka, in separate counter-affidavits, called for the case to be dismissed. INEC argued that voter information is not confidential and can be made public by law, further stating that the information Olayinka shared did not originate from the commission. Olayinka maintained that the suit was brought in bad faith, noting that the posted document only contained Ike’s name and passport photograph, both already in the public domain. He emphasized that Ike had made these details public during his campaign and that he was under no legal obligation to obtain permission before sharing such information. Olayinka said his intention was to remind Ike of his voter registration transfer and to highlight relevant sections of the electoral act. He also referenced INEC’s statement that there had been no external breach or unauthorized access to its database.
Furthermore, Olayinka denied responsibility for any harm Ike claimed, arguing that he was not a data controller under the Nigerian Data Protection Act, 2023, and therefore had no legal duty to protect Ike’s information. He described Ike’s demand for N10 billion as opportunistic, asserting that damages could not be awarded for information already in the public domain.
Presiding judge Salim Ibrahim agreed with the objections raised by Olayinka and INEC, ruling that Ike’s suit was “incompetent and improperly constituted.” The court subsequently dismissed the case for lack of proof.
