Emeka Ike speaks out on feeling unsafe after INEC data leak

Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike has said he felt "insecure for the first time in his life" after his personal information was leaked by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a video shared on X on Thursday, the House of Representatives aspirant for the Nigeria Democratic Congress spoke on News Central Television. He called the leak an abuse of power and raised worries about the safety of citizens and data protection in Nigeria.

Ike confirmed that he has started legal action against Lere Olayinka, who is the media aide to Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

"It was shocking. It was so disturbing that I felt unsafe. I felt insecure. For the first time, I’m feeling like, is anybody safe in this country anymore? That kind of feeling, that’s what it was like to me," he said.

He claimed that the data leak showed what he called political recklessness and abuse of authority.

"It’s an abuse of power. It’s the extreme to radicalism, political radicalism. It’s basically telling Nigerians that we’re in charge, we know you all, we’ll do what we want and we can get away with it. That’s very, very irritating and I feel very disturbed by this," he said.

The actor mentioned that his legal team has already contacted the relevant parties, including Olayinka, INEC, his political party, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the police, to officially document the complaint.

"Obviously, I will go to court, and my lawyer has already written to Lere and INEC. He has also written my party, the DSS and the police so that it can be on record that stuff like this has happened in Nigeria," he added.