By Emma Ombugadu, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s N10 billion fundamental rights suit against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the publication of his voter registration details on social media.
Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday, upheld the respondents’ preliminary objections, ruling that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted. The court also dismissed the substantive suit for lack of proof.
Ike had instituted the action after Olayinka allegedly published details of his voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja on his X account in May.
The actor, who sought to contest the 2027 House of Representatives election for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), had reportedly lost his bid during the party’s primary election.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, filed through his counsel, L. T. Adeh, Ike named Olayinka and INEC as the first and second respondents, respectively.
He asked the court to declare that Olayinka’s publication of his personal information without his consent violated his fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data.
The actor 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, arguing that the provisions guaranteed his right to privacy and personal data protection.
Ike also asked the court to declare that INEC owed him and other registered voters a statutory duty of care to safeguard their personal information against unauthorised access.
Among the reliefs sought was an award of N10 billion in aggravated and general damages against Olayinka and INEC, jointly and severally, over the alleged violation of his privacy rights.
He further sought a declaration that INEC’s June 2 press release responding to the circulation of his voter information amounted to a tacit admission of guilt and liability.
The actor also urged the court to order Olayinka to remove the disputed post from his X account, @OlayinkaLere, and issue a written apology for the alleged breach of his fundamental rights.
In its counter-affidavit, INEC urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the information in question was neither classified, sensitive nor confidential.
The commission, through its Assistant Director and Data Protection Officer in the Legal Drafting and Clearance Department, Anthonia Makwe, maintained that the publication and display of voter information were governed by applicable electoral laws.
INEC argued that its statutory responsibilities included compiling, maintaining, displaying, publishing, certifying and managing the national register of voters in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission also denied that the information allegedly published by Olayinka originated from its systems.
It maintained that it had not breached its statutory duty to safeguard voter information held within its secured portal and restricted database.
Olayinka, in his counter-affidavit, also urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing the reliefs sought by Ike as being made in bad faith.
He maintained that the document he published contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he claimed were already in the public domain.
The FCT minister’s aide argued that the information was not obtained through unlawful means and that he owed the actor no duty of confidentiality concerning details already publicly accessible.
Olayinka further contended that Ike had voluntarily presented his personal information to the public in connection with his political ambition and his public profile as a Nollywood actor.
He also cited Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, arguing that INEC was required to publish the register of voters no later than 90 days before a general election.
According to Olayinka, the publication was intended to draw attention to Ike’s transfer of voter registration and highlight the relevant electoral provisions.
He further alleged that Ike had led a group of hoodlums to an INEC office to disrupt the commission’s activities after declaring his intention to contest the election. The allegation was part of Olayinka’s response to the suit.
Olayinka also relied on INEC’s June 2 press release, which he said stated that there had been no external breach of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database, hacking incident or unauthorised external access to its information technology infrastructure.
He argued that he was not a data controller under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and therefore had no legal obligation to safeguard the documents in question.
Describing the N10 billion damages claim as unjustified, Olayinka insisted that he could not be held liable for publishing information that was already publicly accessible.
He consequently urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The court subsequently dismissed the action, upholding the respondents’ preliminary objections and finding that the substantive claims had not been proved.
