Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lere Olayinka, a media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the alleged unauthorised disclosure of his voter registration details.
In the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Ike is demanding ₦10 billion in damages, alleging violation of his privacy and personal data rights.
The case stems from a social media post in May in which Olayinka allegedly shared screenshots of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to Abuja while questioning his eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in the Federal Capital Territory. The information was said to have been accessed from an INEC administrative portal.
Ike is asking the court to declare the publication unlawful and a breach of his constitutional right to privacy as well as provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
He is also seeking an order compelling Olayinka to delete the post, issue a public apology across his social media platforms and national newspapers, and pay damages.
The controversy has raised concerns over the security of voter data held by INEC.
INEC had earlier stated that preliminary findings showed no external breach of its database, but rather access through valid user credentials assigned for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, which were allegedly misused.
Before filing the suit, Ike condemned the incident, saying it made him feel unsafe and amounted to an abuse of authority.
Investigations by INEC and security agencies into the matter are ongoing.
