Nollywood actor and politician, , has instituted a N10 billion lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr. Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, over the alleged unlawful disclosure of his personal voter information.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026 and filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 15, seeks redress for what Ike described as a violation of his constitutional right to privacy and personal data protection.
The legal action stems from a controversy that erupted in May after Olayinka published screenshots on his X account showing details of Ike’s voter registration transfer from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory. The information was reportedly obtained from an INEC administrative portal and was released amid public debates over the actor’s eligibility to contest for a House of Representatives seat in Abuja.
The publication sparked public concern, with many questioning how sensitive voter information stored in a restricted electoral database became accessible for public dissemination. Critics alleged that the data was sourced from a backend platform intended exclusively for authorised INEC personnel.
Although INEC denied reports that its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database had been hacked, the commission acknowledged that the disclosure resulted from the misuse of valid internal credentials by authorised users.
The incident reportedly attracted the attention of the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT), which is said to have questioned Olayinka and an electoral officer in connection with the alleged data leak.
In the suit filed through his counsel, Leonard Adeh, Ike argued that the publication of his voter records without his consent violated Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and relevant provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
He is asking the court to declare the publication of his personal voter information unlawful, unconstitutional, and a breach of his fundamental rights.
The actor further contended that INEC has a statutory responsibility to safeguard the personal information of registered voters and prevent unauthorised access, misuse, or disclosure of such data.
Ike also urged the court to hold that INEC’s June 2, 2026 press statement on the matter amounted to an admission of liability for failing to adequately secure his voter records. He wants both INEC and Olayinka held jointly responsible for the alleged violation of his privacy rights.
Among the reliefs sought are an order directing Olayinka to delete the social media post containing the voter information, issue an unreserved public apology, and publish the apology on his X account as well as in three national newspapers for two consecutive weeks.
In addition, Ike is seeking N10 billion in aggravated and general damages against the defendants for what he described as a gross breach of privacy and unlawful exposure of his personal data.
The case is expected to test the application of Nigeria’s data protection laws and the extent of public institutions’ obligations in protecting citizens’ personal information within the country’s digital electoral system.
