A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a N10bn suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, a senior aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission over the publication of his voter registration details on social media.
Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the suit on Wednesday after upholding preliminary objections by the respondents, ruling that the case was incompetent and improperly constituted.
Ike had sued Olayinka and INEC, alleging that the publication of his voter registration information on X without his consent violated his fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data.
The actor sought N10bn in general and aggravated damages against the respondents, jointly and severally. He also asked the court to order Olayinka to remove the post and issue a written apology.
The dispute followed a post Olayinka allegedly made in May showing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja.
Ike, who planned to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the 2027 general election on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, argued that the publication breached Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
He also asked the court to declare that INEC had a statutory duty to protect voters’ personal information from unauthorised access. He further argued that the commission’s statement of June 2, issued in response to the controversy, amounted to an admission of liability.
However, INEC denied breaching its duty to protect voters’ data, arguing that the information in question was neither classified nor confidential.
In its counter-affidavit, the commission said it had the statutory and constitutional authority to make voters’ information available to the public in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2026.
INEC also maintained that the material allegedly published by Olayinka did not originate from its systems and that there had been no breach of its secured voter registration database.
Olayinka, in his response, argued that the document he published contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he said were already in the public domain.
He denied obtaining the information unlawfully or owing the actor a duty of confidentiality, adding that Ike had made his identity public when he declared his intention to contest an election.
Olayinka also said his post was intended to draw attention to Ike’s voter registration transfer and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
He urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing the claims, including the N10bn damages demand, as being made in bad faith.
Ike’s suit was marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026.
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