Actor-turned-politician condemns alleged exposure of his INEC records, calls it a “serious breach of privacy and abuse of power”

Actor and politician, Emeka Ike, has vowed to take legal action against Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the alleged public exposure of his personal voter registration details.

It was noted that Ike, who contested the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the FCT under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was defeated in the election.

Controversy erupted after Olayinka shared on 𝕏 details purportedly obtained from an administrative interface of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The post alleged that Ike had earlier registered as a voter in Imo State before transferring his registration to the FCT on May 15.

The shared screenshots reportedly contained sensitive voter information, including Ike’s application number, registration centre, voter identification number, profile image, name, and date of application—sparking widespread concerns over possible data access violations.

Reacting during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, Ike described the incident as disturbing and unacceptable, accusing the aide of abusing access to confidential civic data.

“It’s quite shocking, extreme, and it is the height of political rascality for a government officer to access a citizen’s information from the INEC cyber,” he said.

According to him, the act reflects a deeper culture of impunity and weak data protection within the political space.

“It tells you a lot, shows how much impunity we have flying around there and people have access to things they shouldn’t be having access to. That’s quite deplorable and a huge insult to Nigerians,” Ike added.

He further warned that such actions set a dangerous precedent where citizens’ private records could be accessed and weaponised for political purposes.

“He is telling every Nigerian that whoever you are, I can pull your information from anywhere and do what I want with it. That rascality needs to be stopped,” he said.

Ike confirmed he is already considering legal steps against Olayinka, insisting the alleged breach of privacy cannot go unchallenged.

“Actions are ready, I’m ready to take him on. He has no right to exploit my privacy and insult Nigerians the way he did. If he has been doing it in the past, this should be the last time,” he stated.