Court throws out Emeka Ike's N10 billion lawsuit against Wike's aide and INEC

The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a N10 billion lawsuit by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, the spokesperson for FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday.

Judge Salim Ibrahim ruled that the lawsuit was not valid and poorly put together. He also said that the case lacked evidence to support its claims.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Ike wanted to run for the House of Representatives seat for AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in Abuja in the 2027 general elections under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). He lost the chance in a primary election.

Mr Olayinka allegedly mocked Mr Ike in a post on X in May. He also shared Mr Ike's private voter registration details on social media after the actor lost the election bid. The post included Mr Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja.

Mr Ike, through his lawyer L. T. Adeh, filed the lawsuit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026 against Mr Olayinka and INEC. He asked the court to declare that Mr Olayinka’s choice to share his voter information on X without his permission “is a serious violation of my right to privacy and the protection of personal data.”

Mr Ike pointed out that Section 37 of the Nigerian constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 and 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 support his right to privacy and data protection.

He also asked the court to declare that INEC had a “duty of care” to protect voters' private data from unauthorized access. He requested N10 billion in damages from Mr Olayinka and INEC for violating his right to privacy.

Mr Ike wanted the court to say that a press release from INEC on June 2, which responded to the spread of his private voter information, was an acknowledgment of guilt. He also sought an order for Mr Olayinka to remove the offensive post from his X handle, @OlayinkaLere, and apologize in writing for breaching his rights.

In response, INEC and Mr Olayinka filed separate counter-affidavits to dismiss the case. INEC said the information in Mr Ike’s complaint was not classified, sensitive, or confidential.

Anthonia Makwe, an Assistant Director/Data Protection Officer at INEC, stated that such information is published according to the Electoral Act, 2026. She emphasized that INEC has the legal power to share voter information with the public without needing any voter’s consent.

INEC explained that part of its job includes managing and publishing the voter register as required by the constitution and the Electoral Act 2026. They added that the information Mr Olayinka shared did not come from the commission.

INEC argued that it has never failed to protect the personal voter information it keeps safe.

On his part, Mr Olayinka said in his counter-affidavit that Mr Ike’s lawsuit was made in bad faith. He claimed that the only information he shared was Mr Ike's name and passport photo, which were already public.

He stated that he didn’t need Mr Ike’s consent to share information already in the public domain. Mr Olayinka argued that Mr Ike, who wanted to run for office, cannot complain about his name and photo being circulated, as he had already made them public.

He also noted that voter card information is not private. According to Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, INEC must publish such information 90 days before elections.

Mr Olayinka said the information he shared was to remind people of Mr Ike's recent change of voter registration area. He insisted that the publication was to inform the public and avoid legal issues.

He claimed that INEC confirmed in its press release that there was no breach of its voter database. Mr Olayinka argued that Mr Ike's claimed injury was not caused by him. He said the lawsuit and demand for N10 billion in damages were made in bad faith and showed that Mr Ike was trying to take advantage of the situation. He called for the court to dismiss the lawsuit for justice.