Veteran Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the alleged unlawful disclosure of his personal voter information.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, was filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, June 15.
The legal action follows a controversy that erupted in May after Olayinka shared screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) showing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
The information, which appeared to have been sourced from INEC’s restricted administrative portal, was posted while Olayinka questioned the actor’s eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in Abuja following his recent political activities.
The publication sparked widespread criticism, with many Nigerians accusing Olayinka of accessing a password-protected system reserved exclusively for INEC officials.
In response to the controversy, INEC denied reports of a major security breach or external hacking of its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database. The commission explained that the incident resulted from the misuse of valid internal login credentials by authorised personnel rather than a cyberattack.
The matter also attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies. Investigators from the Force Intelligence Department’s Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) reportedly questioned both Olayinka and an electoral officer over the alleged leak of voter information from the INEC portal.
Through his lawyer, Leonard Adeh, Ike is asking the court to declare that Olayinka’s publication of his voter information without consent constitutes a serious violation of his constitutional right to privacy and protection of personal data.
According to the actor, his rights are protected under 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.
Ike further argues that INEC owes a statutory duty of care to all registered voters and must ensure that their personal information is protected from unauthorised access and disclosure.
Among the reliefs sought, the actor wants the court to hold both Olayinka and INEC jointly liable for the alleged breach of his privacy rights. He is also seeking an order compelling Olayinka to remove the post from his X account and issue a written apology.
The proposed apology, according to the suit, should not only be published on Olayinka’s social media platform but also in three national newspapers—The Punch, The Nation, and ThisDay—for two consecutive weeks.
Most significantly, Ike is demanding ₦10 billion in aggravated and general damages from both defendants for what he describes as a gross violation of his fundamental rights and unlawful exposure of his personal data.
The case is expected to test the scope of Nigeria’s data protection laws and the responsibilities of public institutions in safeguarding citizens’ personal information.
