Court dismisses Emeka Ike’s ₦10bn suit against Wike’s aide, Lere Olayinka, and INEC over the publication of his voter registration details
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a ₦10bn fundamental rights suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the publication of his voter registration details on social media.
Also read: PDP Raises Alarm Over Political Violence in Ebonyi
Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, upheld preliminary objections filed by the respondents, ruling that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted.
The court also dismissed the substantive case for lack of proof.
Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy by publishing information relating to his voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja on his X account in May.
The actor, who had aspired to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the 2027 general elections on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), filed the suit after losing the party’s primary election.
The case was marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026.
In the suit filed through his lawyer, L. T. Adeh, Ike asked the court to declare that Olayinka’s publication of his voter registration information without his consent violated his fundamental 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.
The actor also sought a declaration that INEC had a statutory duty to protect the personal information of registered voters from unauthorised access.
He asked the court to award ₦10bn in aggravated and general damages against Olayinka and the electoral commission, jointly and severally.
Among his other requests were an order directing Olayinka to remove the post from his X account and a written apology for the alleged violation of his privacy rights.
Ike also argued that an INEC press release dated June 2, issued in response to the circulation of his voter information, amounted to an admission of liability.
In its counter-affidavit, INEC urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the information at the centre of the dispute was neither classified nor confidential.
The commission, through Anthonia Makwe, an assistant director and data protection officer in its Legal Drafting and Clearance Department, maintained that the publication and management of voter information fell within its statutory responsibilities.
INEC argued that it had the constitutional and statutory authority to make certain voter information available to the public without obtaining individual consent.
It also maintained that the information allegedly published by Olayinka did not originate from the commission and denied breaching its duty to protect voters’ personal data.
Olayinka, in his counter-affidavit, denied unlawfully accessing Ike’s information and argued that the reliefs sought by the actor were unjustified.
He maintained that the document he published contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he said were already in the public domain.
The FCT minister’s aide further argued that the information was not obtained through unlawful means and that he had no duty to keep publicly available information confidential.
Olayinka also cited provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, arguing that INEC was required to publish the register of voters within the period prescribed by law.
He said the publication was intended to draw attention to Ike’s voter registration transfer and relevant electoral provisions.
According to Olayinka, the post followed an incident in which Ike allegedly led a group of people to an INEC office to disrupt its activities after declaring his intention to contest the election. This remained Olayinka’s account of the incident.
He further argued that INEC had stated in its press release that there had been no external breach of its Continuous Voter Registration database, no hacking incident and no unauthorised external access to its information and communications technology infrastructure.
Olayinka urged the court to dismiss the suit, maintaining that the alleged injury was not caused by him and that he was not responsible for safeguarding the documents in question.
Justice Ibrahim upheld the respondents’ preliminary objections, finding the suit incompetent and improperly constituted. The court also dismissed the substantive action for lack of proof.
The ruling followed arguments from both sides over whether the publication of Ike’s voter registration information violated his privacy rights and whether the respondents could be held liable for the alleged breach.
The dismissal means Ike’s claim for ₦10bn in damages was unsuccessful before the Federal High Court.
Also read: PDP Raises Alarm Over Political Violence in Ebonyi
The report did not indicate whether the actor intended to appeal the judgment.
