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 the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the alleged publication of his personal voter registration details on social media.
Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the suit on Wednesday after upholding preliminary objections filed by the respondents, ruling that the case was incompetent and improperly constituted.
The judge also dismissed the substantive suit for lack of proof.
The case followed allegations that Olayinka published Ike’s confidential voter registration information on his X account in May, allegedly mocking the actor after he lost his bid to secure the ticket of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the 2027 general elections.
The publication reportedly contained details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
Ike, through his lawyer, L. T. Adeh, filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, naming Olayinka and INEC as the first and second respondents, respectively.
The actor asked the court to declare that Olayinka violated his fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data by publishing his voter registration information on social media without his consent.
He argued that the alleged publication violated 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 also asked the court to declare that INEC had a statutory duty to protect his personal information and that of other registered voters from unauthorised access and disclosure.
As part of his demands, the actor sought N10 billion in aggravated and general damages against Olayinka and INEC, jointly and severally, for the alleged violation of his fundamental rights.
He also requested an order directing Olayinka to remove the post from his X account, tender a written apology and stop further publication of the information.
Additionally, Ike asked the court to declare that an INEC press release dated June 2, issued in response to the circulation of his voter information on social media, amounted to an admission of liability by the electoral commission.
However, Olayinka and INEC opposed the suit and urged the court to dismiss it.
In its counter-affidavit, INEC maintained that the information complained about by the actor was neither classified nor confidential and that the publication of voter information was governed by electoral laws.
The commission argued that it had constitutional and statutory powers to make certain information in the voters’ register available to the public without obtaining the consent of individual registered voters.
INEC said its responsibilities included compiling, maintaining, displaying, publishing and managing the voters’ register in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission also denied that the information published by Olayinka originated from its database through an external breach.
According to INEC, it had not experienced any hacking incident or unauthorised external access to its information technology infrastructure in connection with the matter.
The electoral body insisted that it had not breached its statutory duty to safeguard voter information held within its secured portal and restricted database.
Olayinka, in his separate counter-affidavit, also denied wrongdoing, arguing that the information he published consisted only of Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he said were already in the public domain.
He maintained that the information was not obtained through unlawful means and that he owed the actor no duty of confidentiality concerning details that were already publicly accessible.
Olayinka further argued that Ike had voluntarily presented himself to the public when he declared his intention to contest the 2027 elections and that the circulation of his name and photograph could not reasonably be treated as a violation of his privacy.
He also cited Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, arguing that INEC was required to publish information from the voters’ register within the period prescribed by law ahead of a general election.
According to Olayinka, the publication was intended to draw attention to Ike’s transfer of his voter registration area and remind the public of the relevant electoral provisions.
He also alleged that the publication followed an incident in which Ike led a group of people to the INEC office to disrupt its activities after announcing his intention to contest the election.
Olayinka rejected the actor’s claim that the publication caused him injury, insisting that he was not a data controller under the Nigeria Data Protection Act and had no legal obligation to protect Ike’s documents.
He further described the N10 billion damages claim as being made in bad faith, arguing that he should not be held liable for publishing information that was already publicly accessible.
Following consideration of the parties’ arguments, Justice Ibrahim upheld the respondents’ preliminary objections and dismissed the suit on grounds of incompetence and improper constitution. The court also dismissed the substantive claims for lack of proof.