The Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission before the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, over what it described as opaque privacy practices and the alleged failure of the Commission to publish a privacy policy on its official website.
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The suit, filed as Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/148/2026, was instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative and Solomon Etisang, Esq., against INEC.
In the court processes, the applicants are seeking the enforcement of their fundamental right to privacy pursuant to Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as relevant provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023. The notice of application before the Federal High Court, Yenagoa Division, also shows that the action was filed under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, 2009.
DRLI contends that INEC’s website, https://wp1.inecnigeria.org/, does not contain a privacy policy or privacy notice informing visitors and voters how their personal data is collected, processed, used, stored, shared or protected.
The group argues that the omission falls short of the transparency and accountability requirements imposed on data controllers and data processors under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Among the reliefs sought, DRLI is asking the court to declare that INEC’s failure to publish a privacy policy on its website amounts to a breach of its transparency obligation under Section 24(1)(a) of the NDPA.
The applicants are also seeking a declaration that the alleged failure violates the right to privacy guaranteed under Section 37 of the Constitution.
DRLI further wants the court to hold that the omission breaches INEC’s statutory duty of care and its obligation to provide information to data subjects under the NDPA, including the right of individuals to know how their personal information is being processed.
The applicants are asking the court to compel INEC to publish a privacy policy on its website without delay.
They are also seeking an order directing the Commission to file an affidavit of compliance within seven days after judgment is delivered in the suit.
The suit comes amid growing concerns over the handling of personal data by public institutions since the Nigeria Data Protection Act came into force.
INEC manages one of the largest repositories of personal information in Nigeria, including biometric and demographic data collected during voter registration and other electoral processes.
Data protection advocates argue that because of the volume and sensitivity of the personal data handled by the Commission, the absence of a publicly accessible privacy policy raises serious questions about transparency, accountability and citizens’ right to know how their data is being used.
The case also adds to a growing number of public-interest actions filed against government agencies and private organisations over alleged breaches of privacy and data protection obligations.
DRLI, a Nigerian digital rights organisation, has previously brought similar actions aimed at compelling compliance with privacy and data protection standards.
The applicants maintain that individuals whose personal data is processed by INEC are entitled to enforce their fundamental right to privacy before the court under the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.
INEC has not publicly responded to the suit as of the time of filing this report.
A date for the first hearing has not yet been announced.
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