Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lere Olayinka over an alleged breach of his privacy rights.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 15 after claims emerged that his personal voter registration information was accessed and published without authorization.
According to court filings, the dispute arose after Olayinka shared screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) containing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The post, which allegedly originated from a restricted INEC platform, questioned the actor’s eligibility to participate in political activities within Abuja.
The publication reportedly sparked widespread reactions online, with concerns raised over the alleged exposure of confidential voter information. Although INEC denied experiencing a major system breach, the commission reportedly acknowledged that the disclosure stemmed from the misuse of legitimate internal access credentials.
In the suit, Ike argued that the release of his personal data without his approval constituted a violation of his constitutional right to privacy, as well as protections provided under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and relevant international human rights frameworks.
The actor is asking the court to declare both INEC and Olayinka responsible for the alleged breach, order the removal of the published information, and compel the defendants to issue a public apology across social media platforms and national newspapers.
He is also seeking ₦10 billion in damages, describing the incident as a serious infringement on his fundamental rights.
The legal battle is expected to draw significant attention as it could become a major test of Nigeria’s growing data protection regime and the obligations of public institutions to safeguard citizens’ personal information.
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