The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled July 2 for the hearing of a N10 billion suit filed by Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Justice Salim Ibrahim fixed the date after Ike's lawyer, Leonard Adeh, requested an adjournment to allow the respondents file their defence. When the case was mentioned on Thursday, only Adeh appeared in court. He raised concerns over the service of summons on Olayinka, asking the court to confirm the nature of service to avoid jurisdictional issues. The judge directed a court official to provide Adeh with a copy of the proof of service from the court's record, after which the lawyer expressed satisfaction. Adeh noted that both Olayinka and INEC were still within the timeframe to respond and sought an adjournment, which Justice Ibrahim granted. The court also ordered that hearing notices be properly served on both respondents.
Ike, who contested for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ticket for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the 2027 general elections but lost in the primary, alleges that Olayinka breached his privacy by posting his voter registration details on social media platform X in May. The post reportedly contained screenshots from INEC's internal portal, showing Ike's voter transfer from Imo State to Abuja, and questioned his eligibility to run. The disclosure triggered public backlash over unauthorised access to INEC's system. INEC responded by denying a systemic breach, stating instead that the leak resulted from misuse of internal credentials by an authorised user. The Force Intelligence Department's Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) summoned both Olayinka and an INEC officer over the incident. In his suit, Ike invokes Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 and 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to claim a violation of his right to privacy. He seeks a declaration that Olayinka's publication of his data was a gross breach, that INEC owes voters a statutory duty of care, and N10 billion in damages from both defendants jointly and severally.
Lere Olayinka questioned Emeka Ike's political eligibility using data pulled from a secure INEC portal, then became a defendant in a N10 billion privacy suit over that same leak. INEC admits the data was exposed by someone with legal access, not an external hack, placing the breach within official circles. The case now tests whether a government aide can use insider information to target a political aspirant without consequence. If the court upholds Ike's claim, it could set a precedent for how public officials handle sensitive citizen data.
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