The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has formally dismissed the N10 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by veteran Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and New Media to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Justice Salim Ibrahim upheld the preliminary objections raised by the respondents on the grounds that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted. The court held that the applicant failed to satisfy essential statutory and procedural requirements necessary to maintain an actionable claim against the respondents.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026 and filed by Ike’s legal counsel, L. T. Adeh, listed Olayinka as the 1st respondent and INEC as the 2nd respondent. The legal battle originated from political friction after Ike lost his primary election bid to secure the House of Representatives ticket for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency under the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Following his primary loss, Olayinka allegedly posted details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory on X (formerly Twitter) under his handle, @OlayinkaLere, accompanied by mocking comments.
In the originating application, Ike prayed the court to declare that publishing his personal data without prior consent violated his fundamental right to privacy and personal data protection under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 and 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Specifically, the actor urged the court to grant the following reliefs:
- Hold that INEC owes him and all registered voters a mandatory statutory duty of care to safeguard private voter records against unauthorized access and third-party leakage.
- Declare that a public statement issued by INEC on June 2, addressing the viral circulation of his personal voter information on social media, constituted a tacit admission of guilt and legal liability by the electoral body.
- Direct Olayinka to immediately retract and pull down the offensive post from his X handle, @OlayinkaLere, and tender an unreserved written apology for the breach of his fundamental rights.
- Award N10 billion jointly and severally against Olayinka and INEC as aggravated and general damages.
However, in separate counter-affidavits filed before the court, both respondents urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
In the commission’s counter-affidavit, deposed to by Anthonia Makwe, an Assistant Director and Data Protection Officer in the Legal Drafting and Clearance Department, INEC argued that voter registration details are neither classified, sensitive, nor confidential information. Makwe explained that such voter information is displayed and published in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026, stressing that the body possesses statutory authority to publish voter information without requiring prior individual consent.
For his part, Olayinka, through his legal team, strongly opposed the application, describing the actor as a gold digger who was attempting to reap where he did not sow through frivolous litigation. Olayinka insisted that he could not be held liable or made to pay damages for circulating information that was already part of the public domain at the time of the publication. He urged the court to throw out the case in the interest of justice.
Delivering the final verdict, Justice Ibrahim agreed with the defense objections and struck out the originating summons in its entirety, reaffirming that fundamental rights enforcement applications must strictly satisfy foundational jurisdictional rules to be entertainable by the court.
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