The court dismissed a lawsuit by actor, Emeka Ike, seeking N10 billion from Wike’s aide, INEC

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a N10 billion human rights lawsuit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Judge Salim Ibrahim, in his ruling, upheld the defendants’ initial objections on the grounds that the lawsuit was incompetent and inappropriate.

Judge Ibrahim also rejected the main claim on the grounds of lack of evidence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ike, who wanted to contest the House of Representatives seat for AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Abuja, for the 2027 general elections on the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), lost in the primaries.

The FCT Minister’s aide, through a post on X last May, allegedly mocked Ike by leaking his confidential voter registration data on social media.

The post is said to contain details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo to the state capital.

Meanwhile, Ike, in the lawsuit filed by LT Adeh, sued Olayinka and INEC as defendants 1 and 2 in a lawsuit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026.

He asked the court to declare that Olayinka’s decision to publish his database on

Ike argued that Article 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 24 & 39 of the Nigerian Data Protection Act of 2023 guarantee his right to privacy and protection of personal data.

The actor asked the court to declare that INEC owes him and other voters a “statutory duty of care” to protect their personal data from unauthorized access.

The petitioner therefore prays the court to award him N10 billion against Olayinka and INEC as aggravated and general damages, to be paid jointly and severally for violating his fundamental right to privacy.

He sought a declaration that INEC’s press release dated June 2, in reaction to the viral publication and circulation of his personal voter information and personal data on social media by Olayinka, was a tacit admission of wrongdoing and responsibility to him.

Ike also sought an order directing Olayinka to immediately revoke and delete offensive posts and publications on his X social media account, @OlayinkaLere, which contained screenshots of his personal voter information and personal data.

He sought an order directing him to immediately submit a written apology for the breach and violation of his fundamental rights.

But in separate reply statements, INEC and Olayinka prayed that the court dismiss the lawsuit in its entirety.

INEC in its response said that the issues raised in the lawsuit filed by Ike were not classified, sensitive and classified information.

The commission, in a counter statement dismissed by Anthonia Makwe, Assistant Director/Data Protection Officer in the Legal Drafting and Licensing Department, said the information was displayed and published in accordance with the 2026 Elections Act.

The statement emphasized that the election body has “the statutory and constitutional power to provide information about its voters to the general public without the consent of any registered voter.”

It said that its “legal responsibilities include the compilation, maintenance, display, publication, certification and management of voter lists in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended), the Elections Act of 2026, and the National Data Protection Act of 2023.

It said that what Olayinka allegedly posted on his X handle did not originate from the commission.