Emeka Ike drags INEC, Wike’s aide to court over alleged voter data leak, seeks N10bn damages

Nollywood actor and politician, Emeka Ike, has instituted a N10 billion 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, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, stems from a controversy that erupted in May after Olayinka published screenshots on his X (formerly Twitter) account showing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.

The actor contends that the publication of the information without his consent constituted a violation of his constitutional right to privacy and amounted to a breach of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.

Court documents indicate that the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, was filed on June 15 through Ike’s legal counsel, Leonard Adeh.

The controversy began after Olayinka shared what appeared to be records obtained from a restricted administrative section of INEC’s voter registration database while questioning the actor’s eligibility to contest a House of Representatives seat in Abuja.

The publication triggered widespread reactions on social media, with many Nigerians raising concerns over the apparent exposure of personal voter data and questioning how information from a supposedly secure electoral database found its way into the public domain.

Amid the public outcry, INEC acknowledged that the information had been improperly disclosed but maintained that its voter registration database had not been hacked. The electoral commission explained that the incident resulted from the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials by authorised personnel rather than an external cyberattack.

The development also attracted the attention of security agencies, with investigators reportedly questioning both Olayinka and an electoral officer as part of efforts to determine how the data was accessed and circulated.

In his suit, Ike argued that the publication of his voter registration details violated protections guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.

He is asking the court to declare that Olayinka’s actions amounted to a gross violation of his right to privacy and the protection of personal information.

The actor further contended that INEC, as custodian of voters’ personal records, owed him and millions of other Nigerians a legal duty to safeguard their information from unauthorised access, disclosure or misuse.

He argued that the electoral body failed in that responsibility by allowing information stored in its custody to become publicly accessible.

Ike is also seeking a declaration that INEC’s public statement issued after the incident amounted to an admission that there had been a failure to adequately protect his personal data.

Beyond the request for declaratory reliefs, the actor is asking the court to compel Olayinka to immediately remove the controversial post from his social media account and tender an unreserved public apology.

According to the court filings, the apology should be published on Olayinka’s X account and in three national newspapers for two consecutive weeks to achieve the same level of public attention generated by the original publication.

The claimant is also demanding N10 billion in aggravated and general damages against both defendants, jointly and severally, for what he described as a serious breach of his fundamental rights and unlawful exposure of his personal voter records.

The case is expected to test the extent of privacy protections under Nigeria’s data protection framework and could set a significant precedent regarding the handling of citizens’ personal information by public institutions and political actors.