Nollywood actor and politician Emeka Ike has expressed concern over what he described as the exposure of his personal data at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying the incident made him feel “insecure for the first time in his life.”
Speaking during an interview on News Central Television, the House of Representatives aspirant under the Nigeria Democratic Congress said the experience raised serious questions about data protection and citizen safety in the country.
The actor said the incident left him shocked and deeply unsettled.
“It was shocking. It was so disturbing that I felt unsafe. I felt insecure. For the first time, I’m feeling like, is anybody safe in this country anymore?” he said.
Emeka Ike described the situation as an abuse of authority and accused those involved of political recklessness.
“It’s an abuse of power. It’s the extreme to radicalism, political radicalism,” he said.
According to him, the incident sends a worrying message about accountability and the handling of sensitive personal information.
“It’s basically telling Nigerians that we’re in charge, we know you all, we’ll do what we want and we can get away with it. That’s very, very irritating and I feel very disturbed by this,” he added.
The actor confirmed that he has begun legal proceedings over the matter, naming Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as one of the individuals he is taking action against.
He said his legal team has formally written to all relevant institutions, including INEC, his political party, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the police, to ensure the incident is properly documented.
“Obviously, I will go to court, and my lawyer has already written to Lere and INEC. He has also written my party, the DSS and the police so that it can be on record that stuff like this has happened in Nigeria,” he said.
The controversy adds to ongoing public debate over data privacy, political conduct, and the handling of sensitive voter and candidate information by public institutions.
As of the time of reporting, INEC and the other parties mentioned have not issued an official response to the allegations.
