A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed Nollywood actor Emeka Ike’s N10 billion human rights lawsuit against Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission. The court ruled that the unauthorized leak of his personal voter data by a government official does not count as a human rights violation.
The ruling by Justice Salim Ibrahim has sparked outrage, with the actor expressing heartbreak over the decision. “It’s very crazy that your right will be violated and the judge will tell you it’s not a fundamental human right. Then what is a fundamental human right? The embarrassment, the bullying online,” Emeka Ike said.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, stemmed from a May 2026 post on X by Olayinka. Ike alleged that the post leaked his confidential voter registration details, including the transfer of his registration from Imo State to Abuja. Ike, who sought to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the 2027 elections on the Nigeria Democratic Congress platform, sought N10 billion in damages. He argued that the publication of his private data without his approval was a gross breach of his fundamental right to privacy under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Justice Ibrahim dismissed the case. He held that Ike failed to prove how the violation occurred. The judge ruled that the alleged data breach is not a human rights issue. He said data privacy matters belong under the Data Protection Act 2023 and cannot be handled as fundamental rights cases. The judge also rejected the N10 billion demand. He noted that the Data Protection Act caps penalties at N10 million or two per cent of an organization’s annual revenue, which is far below what Ike asked for. INEC had argued that voter information is not confidential and that it has the legal power to publish it.
This ruling is a slap in the face of every Nigerian who expects the government to protect their personal data. A presidential aide used his social media platform to expose the private voter details of a citizen for political mockery. The court looked at that and said it is not a human rights issue. The court is telling Nigerians that if a government official leaks their private data on social media, they cannot seek justice through human rights enforcement. They must file a civil suit under a law that caps damages at a small fraction of what the violation is worth.
The decision protects the powerful and silences the weak. It tells the ruling party and its officials that they can use a citizen’s personal information to embarrass them online, and the courts will hide behind technicalities. Emeka Ike’s lawyer has said they will appeal the judgment, but the damage is already done. A citizen asked the court for justice, and the court told him that his leaked data and public embarrassment do not count as a human rights issue. If the courts cannot protect a famous actor from a government aide, ordinary Nigerians have no hope. The court has failed the very people it is supposed to protect.
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