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 to Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The suit was over the publication of Ike's voter registration details on social media. Justice Salim Ibrahim delivered the judgment on Wednesday, upholding the respondents' preliminary objections.
Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy and data protection by publishing details of his voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja on his X account in May. The actor sought to contest the 2027 House of Representatives election for the Abuja Municipal Area Council/Bwari Federal Constituency on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress but lost the party's primary election. Ike's suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, asked the court to declare that publishing his voter information without his consent violated the 1999 Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The court ruled that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted, dismissing the substantive suit for lack of proof. Ike had sought N10 billion in general and aggravated damages against the respondents, jointly and severally. He also asked the court to order Olayinka to remove the post from his X account, retract the publication, and issue a written apology. The respondents had urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the information published was neither classified nor confidential.
INEC, in a counter-affidavit, argued that the publication of voter information was part of its statutory responsibilities under the Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. The commission denied that the information published by Olayinka originated from its systems, maintaining that it had not breached its duty to protect voters' information held in its secured portal and restricted database. INEC's argument was that it had a duty to provide voter information to the public.
Olayinka, in his counter-affidavit, said the document he published contained only Ike's name and passport photograph, which he claimed were already in the public domain. He denied obtaining the information unlawfully and argued that he owed Ike no duty of confidentiality that required his consent before publishing the material. Olayinka also argued that Ike had made his identity and photograph public by seeking political office and working as a Nollywood actor.
The publication, according to Olayinka, was intended to draw attention to Ike's voter registration transfer and the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act. He cited INEC's June 2 statement, which confirmed that there had been no external breach of the commission's continuous voter registration database, hacking incident, or unauthorized external access to its information technology infrastructure. Olayinka maintained that he was not a data controller under the Nigeria Data Protection Act and had no obligation to safeguard information already available to the public.
The court dismissed the suit after upholding the respondents' preliminary objections and finding that the substantive claims had not been proved. Ike's N10 billion claim was also described as being made in bad faith. The dismissal of the suit means that Ike will not receive the damages he sought, and Olayinka will not be required to apologize or remove the post from his X account.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed Emeka Ike's N10 billion suit against Lere Olayinka and INEC.
- The court ruled that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted.
- Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy and data protection by publishing his voter registration details on social media.
