Court tells Emeka Ike and Wike’s aide to consider settling N10bn case out of court

The Federal High Court in Abuja has advised Nollywood actor Emeka Ike and Lere Olayinka, who is a Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, to look into settling their N10 billion privacy breach case outside the court. Justice Salim Ibrahim offered this suggestion during a session on Wednesday.

All parties involved in the suit, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were present at the hearing. Leonard Adeh, representing Mr Ike, informed the court that the case was set for further mention.

INEC’s lawyer, Solomon Umoh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, stated that they had filed and served all their necessary documents, including a counter affidavit in response to the suit. Mr Adeh confirmed that they received the commission's documents only on Tuesday and noted they still had time to respond.

Justice Ibrahim then suggested that the parties consider reaching an agreement outside of court. Mr Olayinka’s lawyer, Akpama Ekwe, who filed a counter-affidavit, said the question of reconciliation should be up to the applicant.

Mr Adeh responded that if the respondents, which include Mr Olayinka and INEC, proposed a settlement offer, “they are very much available to amicable settlement.” He added that until such an offer is made, the case should be postponed for a definite hearing.

The judge agreed and adjourned the matter until 12 October for a hearing based on the agreement of all lawyers involved. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ike wanted to run for the House of Representatives seat for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in Abuja during the 2027 general elections under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) but lost in the primary.

Earlier in May, Lere Olayinka allegedly mocked Mr Ike by sharing his private voter registration details on social media in a post on X. This post reportedly revealed Mr Ike’s transfer of voter registration from Imo State to Abuja.

Following this, Mr Ike, through Mr Adeh, took legal action against Mr Olayinka and INEC. He asked the court to rule that Olayinka’s choice to publish his information on X without his permission “amounts to a gross breach and violation of the applicant’s fundamental right to privacy and the protection of personal data.”

Mr Ike pointed out that Section 37 of the Nigerian constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 & 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 support his right to privacy and personal data protection. He requested the court to state that INEC has a “statutory duty of care” to safeguard voters’ private data against unauthorized access.

Mr Ike is asking for N10 billion as damages from both Mr Olayinka and INEC for violating his privacy rights. He also wants the court to declare that a press release from INEC on 2 June, which responded to the viral sharing of his personal voter information, was an admission of guilt.

Additionally, he is seeking an order for Olayinka to retract his post and remove the content from his X handle, @OlayinkaLere. He wants Olayinka to give a written apology for breaching his fundamental rights.

In separate counter-affidavits, both INEC and Mr Olayinka requested the court to dismiss the suit. INEC claimed that the information Mr Ike complained about was not classified or confidential. They noted that such details are publicly available as per the Electoral Act, 2026.

The commission, represented by Anthonia Makwe, an assistant director/data protection officer, said it has the legal authority to share voter information without consent. It emphasized its duty includes managing and publishing the voters register in line with the Nigerian constitution, Electoral Act 2026, and the National Data Protection Act 2023.

INEC stated that Mr Olayinka’s post did not come from their commission. In his defense, Mr Olayinka said that Mr Ike’s claims were made in bad faith. He noted that the only details he shared were Mr Ike’s name and passport photo, which were already public.

Mr Olayinka argued that he did not violate any duty of care or confidentiality to Mr Ike. He mentioned that Mr Ike should not feel unsafe or upset about the circulation of his information since he publicly presented it when he chose to run for office.

He also pointed out that the information provided on voter cards is not private data, as the Electoral Act mandates INEC to publish this information ahead of general elections. Mr Olayinka claimed that since Mr Ike submitted his personal data to INEC and the public, he cannot complain about the publication.

Mr Olayinka claimed that INEC’s press release confirmed there was no breach of its database. He stated that Mr Ike’s alleged injury was not caused by him and that he is not responsible for protecting Mr Ike’s documents. He argued that Mr Ike’s request for N10 billion was in bad faith, suggesting that the actor is trying to gain from something he did not earn. He urged the court to dismiss the suit in the interest of justice.