Court advises Emeka Ike, Wike’s aide to explore reconciliation in N10bn suit

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday advised the Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, and Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to explore out-of-court settlement in the N10 billion rights suit. 

Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the advice to parties, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the proceeding. 

When the case was called on Wednesday, all the parties were represented in court. 

Leonard Adeh, who appeared for Ike, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for further mention. 

INEC’s lawyer, Solomon Umoh, SAN, said all their processes, including a counter affidavit, in response to the suit, had been filed and served on the parties. 

Adeh acknowledged receipt of the commission’s processes which he said were only served on them on Tuesday. 

He said they were still within time to respond. 

Justice Ibrahim then advised the parties to see if they could also explore amicable settlement out of court. 

Responding, counsel for Olayinka, Akpama Ekwe, who had also filed his counter affidavit, told the court that the question about reconciliation should be answered by the applicant (Ike). 

Adeh then stated that if the respondents (Olayinka and INEC) made an offer for settlement, “they are very much available to amicable settlement.”

The lawyer said until such offer comes, the matter should be adjourned for definite hearing. 

The judge consequently adjourned the matter until October 12 for hearing by agreement of all the counsel. 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ike, who aspired to vie for the House of Representatives’ seat for AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Abuja for the 2027 general elections on the platform of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), lost the bid in a primary poll. 

The FCT minister’s aide, through a post on X in May, was alleged to have mocked Ike by leaking his confidential voter registration details on social media. 

The post was said to have shown details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo to the nation’s capital. 

Meanwhile, Ike, in the suit filed by Adeh, sued Olayinka and INEC as 1st and 2nd respondents in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026.

He asked the court to declare that Olayinka’s decision to publish his database on X without his approval “amounts to gross breach and violation of the applicant’s fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data”.

Ike argued that Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the universal declaration of human rights, and Sections 24 & 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 guaranteed his right to privacy and protection of personal data.

The actor asked the court to declare that INEC owes him and other voters a “statutory duty of care” to protect their private data against unauthorised access.

The applicant, therefore, prayed the court to award him N10 billion against Olayinka and INEC as aggravated and general damages, to be paid jointly and severally for violating his fundamental right to privacy.

He sought a declaration that the press release by INEC dated June 2, in reaction to the viral publication and circulation of his personal voter information and private data on social media by Olayinka, amounts to a tacit admission of guilt and liability to him.

Ike, equally, sought an order directing Olayinka to immediately retract and pull down the offensive post and publication on his social media X handle, @OlayinkaLere, containing screenshots of his personal voter information and private data. 

He sought an order directing him to immediately tender an unreserved apology in writing for breach and violation of his fundamental right. 

But responding in a separate counter affidavit, INEC and Olayinka prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety. 

INEC, in its response, said the issue complained about in the suit filed by Ike was neither classified, sensitive nor confidential information.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖