Court Drama: INEC Refuses to Classify Emeka Ike's Data!

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have presented their defenses in a Federal High Court, Abuja, regarding a lawsuit filed by Nollywood actor and National Democratic Congress (NDC) House of Representatives aspirant, Emeka Ike. The actor is suing the electoral body and Olayinka for alleged violation of his fundamental right to privacy.

Emeka Ike's suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026 and filed on June 15, 2026, by his counsel, Leonard Adeh, claims that his personal voter registration details were unlawfully disclosed on Olayinka's official X handle. This disclosure allegedly occurred after screenshots showing the transfer of Ike's voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory surfaced on social media. Ike contends that the information was published without his consent, and he believes it was accessed from a restricted INEC administrative portal. For this alleged breach of privacy, the actor is seeking N10 billion in damages, along with court orders for the removal of the social media post and a public apology.

In his counter affidavit, Lere Olayinka, through his counsel Akpama Ekwe, asserted that the information he published, specifically the applicant's name and passport photograph, was already in the public domain and was not accessed through any unlawful means. Olayinka further argued that he does not owe Emeka Ike any duty of care or confidentiality, and therefore did not require his consent to publish information that was already publicly available. He highlighted that an individual like Ike, who is contesting for election into the Federal House of Representatives and is a well-known Nollywood star, should not be traumatized by the circulation of his name and passport photograph, which he personally presented to the public when seeking to contest elections.

Olayinka's defense also referenced Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2026, which stipulates that the Commission shall, no later than 90 days to a general election, appoint a period of seven days during which a copy of the voters' register for each Local Government, Area Council or Ward shall be displayed or published for public scrutiny at every registration area and on its official website or any website established for that purpose. This provision, he argued, supports the public nature of voter information.

INEC, as the second respondent in the suit, also filed a counter affidavit deposed to by Anthonia Makwe, an Assistant Director/Data Protection Officer in the Legal Drafting and Clearance department. INEC stated that the issue complained of by Emeka Ike was neither classified, sensitive, nor confidential information. The Commission reiterated its statutory and constitutional function and power to make available information of its voters to the general public without the consent of any registered voter, in accordance with the Electoral Act 2026. INEC's statutory responsibilities include the compilation, maintenance, display, publication, certification, and management of the register of voters as per the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2026, and the National Data Protection Act 2023. While defending the public nature of voter data, INEC also clarified that what was allegedly posted by Olayinka on his X platform did not emanate from the Commission. Furthermore, INEC affirmed that as a data controller, it has never breached its statutory duty of care, custody, and protection of personal voter information and data owed to the applicant and other voters under its secured portal and restricted database.