The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a N10 billion fundamental rights suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the case on Wednesday after upholding preliminary objections by the respondents challenging the suit’s competence and proper constitution. The judge also dismissed the substantive claim for lack of proof.
Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy by publishing details of his voter registration on his X account in May. The actor alleged that the post exposed personal information, including the transfer of his voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, Ike sought N10 billion in general and aggravated damages, an order compelling Olayinka to delete the post, and a written apology. He relied on Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The actor also asked the court to declare that INEC had a statutory duty to protect voters’ personal information. He further argued that the commission’s June 2 statement responding to the circulation of his details amounted to an admission of liability.
INEC opposed the suit, maintaining that the information in question was neither classified nor confidential and that the commission was legally empowered to make certain voter information available to the public. It also denied that the disputed information had originated from its database or that its systems had been breached.
Olayinka similarly denied wrongdoing, arguing that the material he published contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he claimed were already publicly available. He maintained that the information was not obtained unlawfully and that he had no duty of confidentiality requiring Ike’s consent before publishing it.
The minister’s aide also argued that the publication was intended to draw attention to Ike’s voter registration transfer and relevant electoral provisions. He cited INEC’s June 2 statement denying any external breach of its continuous voter registration database, hacking incident or unauthorised access to its information technology infrastructure.
Ike had sought to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections under the Nigerian Democratic Congress but lost the party’s primary election.
The court’s dismissal ends the suit at the trial court, with Justice Ibrahim ruling against Ike after considering the respondents’ objections and the evidence presented.
