…How PIDOMNIGERIA was arrested – FIJ
…PIDOM Nigeria Alive In Police Custody – David Hundeyin
On Thursday night, Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin raised an alarm over the possible abduction and death of an anonymous investigative journalist on X, known as @PIDOMNIGERIA, allegedly by top tier security operatives in Nigeria.
PACESETTER reports that his detailed revelation threw Nigerians into shock, prompting the trending of the #FREEPIDOMNIGERIA and #WHEREISPIDOM hashtags on X, formerly Twitter.
Later in the day, more details about PIDOMNIGERIA‘s abduction and proof of life emerged and were published in different EXCLUSIVES by Fisayo Soyombo’s FIJ and David Hundeyin’s West Africa Weekly
The Full details of the stories are reproduced below:
Why NPF-NCCC, FCID Tracked, Abducted ‘PIDOMNigeria’ – FIJ
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is detaining Isaac Bristol, a Rivers State resident they believe to be behind the @PIDOMNIGERIA online profile, which often publishes leaks indicting the government.
On Thursday night, Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin published details of his conversation with someone claiming to be a confidant of the detainee. This person, Hundeyin said, reached him via @PIDOMNIGERIA’s X account, and claimed the police arrested Isaac on August 5.
FIJ has now gathered intel on the allegations the police levelled against Isaac. A security source privy to the operations of the police and the office of the National Security Adviser told FIJ on condition of anonymity that the police were accusing Isaac of terrorism financing and espionage.
“The police received petitions against him, but it was the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) that tracked and apprehended him,” this source told FIJ.
“From the petitions, the biggest allegations against him are a breach of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and terrorism financing.
“They also accused him of espionage, treasonable felony, computer wire fraud and unauthorised removal of classified documents.”
The OSA prohibits the unauthorised transmission of any information which has been classified by any government branch as being prejudicial to the security of Nigeria. The insider who spoke with FIJ said the leaks published via PIDOMNIGERIA’s X handle are deemed by the government to run foul of this act, and they put him on the radar of Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA.
“He is not in the custody of the NSA, but the NSA is investigating him,” the insider added.
“Right now, he is at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) at the behest of the NPF-NCCC, and every security agency will want a bite of the cookie now that they know where he is.”
In early August, the NSA’s office claimed it intercepted N83 billion in cryptocurrency — funds it claimed would have funded the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest. One of the crypto accounts it claimed was part of this effort was linked to @PIDOMNIGERIA, FIJ has been told.
Prior to this, the X account put out claims linking Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, to fraud. He also published several police signal leaks.His arrest comes amidst a wave of government-led attacks against media practitioners and publishers.
In May, the police tracked and abducted FIJ reporter Daniel Ojukwu, who would spend 10 days in their custody before regaining freedom. Out on bail, the NPF-NCCC wants Ojukwu to report to Abuja from Lagos every two weeks.
It also wants ‘Fisyao Soyombo, FIJ’s Founder/Editor-in-Chief, to make similar Lagos-Abuja trips every two weeks, after he was released on bail when he turned himself in earlier in the month.
Handcuffed for Days, Thrown in a Hole, 6 Days of Solitary Confinement… How Police Dehumanised @PIDOMNigeria – FIJ
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) subjected Isaac Bristol, a microblogger and leak journalist known popularly as @PIDOMNigeria, to inhuman treatment after his August 5 arrest, FIJ has gathered.
On Friday, an intervention team involving Omoyele Sowore, David Hundeyin, Raphael Adebayo, Deji Adeyanju and FIJ was able to establish that the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) housed Bristol after the National Cybercrime Center (NCCC) tracked and abducted him from a location in Nigeria’s southeast.
Isaac told representatives of this team that the police abducted and kept him in solitary confinement for at least six days in an anti-kidnapping unit before transferring him to a different facility. He later ended up in the FCID’s custody.
Adeyanju, who saw Isaac in custody on Friday, told FIJ in a telephone interview that the microblogger relayed how the police broke into his house and abducted him.
“He told us they came like armed robbers,” Adeyanju told FIJ. “They were dressed in mufti, about 15 policemen. They broke in and dragged him away like a criminal.
“They threw him into a hole somewhere in an anti-kidnapping unit of the police. There, they denied him food, water and access to other human beings. He was in solitary confinement for at least six days, and they kept handcuffs on him throughout.
“He showed us his wrists; they were bruised from wearing handcuffs for that long. They did not allow him access to a lawyer or family members.”
Adeyanju also said he saw Isaac in the same clothes the police abducted him in. The microblogger had worn the same piece of clothing for at least 18 days.
With the police demanding two level 16 civil servants who owned landed property worth at least N500 million in Abuja as sureties for Isaac’s bail, the conditions for his release are stringent. FIJ learnt the police are set to charge him in court on Monday.
On Friday afternoon, FIJ called Muyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, but he said he was unaware of the matter. Adejobi promised to get back to the newspaper. As of press time, he had not.
Isaac’s arrest became public when Hundeyin published details of his conversation with someone who claimed to be affiliated with the microblogger.
PIDOM Nigeria Alive In Police Custody – David Hundeyin
Pidom Nigeria, a prominent whistleblower in Nigerian cyberspace known for exposing corruption and other societal ills, has been located at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) after being reported missing.
His disappearance and the compromise of his social media accounts sparked widespread concern among his followers and the general public.
The development was disclosed by investigative journalist David Hundeyin, who took to social media to reveal that Pidom went missing and his account had been compromised. David Hundeyin’s exposé detailed how Pidom’s social media account were compromised, leading to fears that he may have been silenced or harmed.
The circumstances surrounding the compromise of his accounts remain unclear, but the incident has raised serious concerns.
FIJ/West Africa Weekly/Pacesetter