Emeka Ike sues INEC, Lere Olayinka over data breach, demands ₦10bn damages

Nollywood actor Emeka Ike has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lere Olayinka, media aide to Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before the federal high court in Abuja over alleged violation of his personal data privacy.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026 and filed on Monday, June 15, 2026, the actor is seeking ₦10 billion in damages, accusing the defendants of unlawfully exposing his voter registration details on social media.

The controversy stemmed from a May incident in which Olayinka allegedly published screenshots on X (formerly Twitter) showing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja. The information was reportedly accessed from a restricted INEC portal.

The post triggered public outrage, with many Nigerians accusing the presidential aide of gaining unauthorised access to a secure electoral database meant for official use only.

While INEC denied claims of a cyber breach, it acknowledged that the disclosure resulted from the misuse of internal credentials by authorised personnel. The commission also said investigations had been launched into the incident.

Following the development, operatives of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) reportedly interrogated both Olayinka and an electoral officer linked to the matter.

In the suit filed through his counsel, Leonard Adeh, Ike is asking the court to declare that the publication of his personal voter information without consent amounts to a violation of his constitutional right to privacy and data protection as guaranteed under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, and international human rights instruments.

He further accused INEC of failing in its duty to safeguard sensitive voter information under its custody.

Among other reliefs, the actor is seeking a court order compelling Olayinka to delete the controversial post from his X account, issue a public apology, and publish the apology in three national newspapers for two weeks.

He is also demanding ₦10 billion in general and aggravated damages against both defendants, jointly and severally, for alleged breach of his fundamental rights.