The Federal High Court in Abuja has encouraged Nollywood actor Emeka Ike and Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to explore an out-of-court settlement in the N10 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by the actor.
Justice Salim Ibrahim gave the advice on Wednesday after parties appeared before the court for further mention of the case, which also lists the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a respondent.
At the proceedings, counsel to Emeka Ike, Leonard Adeh, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for mention and confirmed receipt of INEC’s counter-affidavit, which had been served on Tuesday.
He told the court that his client was still within the time allowed to file a response.
Justice Ibrahim thereafter urged the parties to consider resolving the dispute amicably outside the courtroom.
Responding, counsel to Olayinka, Akpama Ekwe, said the decision on reconciliation rested with the applicant.
However, Adeh maintained that Ike was willing to embrace an amicable resolution if the respondents initiated settlement discussions.
Following submissions by counsel, the court adjourned the matter until October 12 for hearing.
The suit stems from a social media post allegedly made by Olayinka after Ike lost the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) primary election for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ike alleged that Olayinka published his voter registration details on X without his consent, including information relating to the transfer of his voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, the actor is asking the court to declare that the publication violated his constitutional right to privacy and protections guaranteed under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, as well as relevant international human rights instruments.
He is also seeking N10 billion in general and aggravated damages against Olayinka and INEC, to be paid jointly and severally, for the alleged breach of his fundamental rights.
Additionally, Ike wants the court to compel Olayinka to delete the post from his X account and publish an unreserved written apology.
He also argued that a June 2 press statement issued by INEC amounted to an admission of liability over the incident.
Both respondents have, however, asked the court to dismiss the suit.
INEC, in its counter-affidavit, argued that the information referenced by Ike was neither confidential nor sensitive, maintaining that voter details are published in line with the Electoral Act, 2026.
The commission insisted that it did not suffer any data breach and that the information shared by Olayinka did not originate from its secured database.
Olayinka also denied violating Ike’s rights, arguing that the information he published consisted only of the actor’s name and passport photograph, which were already in the public domain.
He contended that, having sought elective office, Ike voluntarily submitted the information to INEC and the public, adding that he was under no legal obligation to obtain the actor’s consent before publishing details that were already publicly accessible.
Olayinka further described the N10 billion damages sought as baseless and urged the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety, insisting that the publication neither breached the law nor caused the injuries alleged by the applicant.
