ISAAC Bristol Tamunobifiri, a whistleblower and suspected owner and operator of X handle, @pidomnigeria, has been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed in a briefing that the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) arrested the whistleblower for alleged conspiracy, breach of the Official Secrets Act and leakage of classified documents.
He was arraigned, yesterday, on nine counts bordering on money laundering, cybercrime, and unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified official secret documents by the police before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Docked before Justice Emeka Nwite, he pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Following his not-guilty plea, his lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, applied for bail, a request objected to by the prosecution counsel.
Nwite adjourned till September 23 to rule on the bail application after listening to the submissions of the lawyers. The Judge, however, ordered that the suspect be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre till the adjourned date.
Police had accused the suspect of mobilising and soliciting support to unduly compel the government to act or abstain from certain acts through the #EndBadGovernance protest.
He was also accused of levelling false money-laundering allegations against President Bola Tinubu and unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified secret documents in contravention of the official Secret Act 1962.
Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) had alleged that a restricted document on a sensitive national security issue was leaked and disseminated by an anonymous blogger using the X handle @pidomnigeria.This prompted a covert investigation by NPF-NCCC operatives to trace the source of the leak.
Three suspects identified during the investigation were Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri, Michael Temidayo Alade and David Hundeyin.
The principal suspect, Tamunobifiri, was apprehended by detectives at a hotel in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Saturday, August 5, 2024. According to the police, Tamunobifiri attempted to resist arrest by locking himself in his hotel room, destroying his phone, and refusing to disclose his phone’s password, claiming he had forgotten it.
Further investigation revealed that Tamunobifiri allegedly leaked sensitive documents originating from the President’s office to the SGF. In another charge, police accused him of tampering with evidence by destroying his Tecno Phantom X phone and attempting to flush it down the toilet of the hotel where he was arrested.
In addition to these allegations, the police reportedly uncovered evidence suggesting that Tamunobifiri engaged in raising funds through anonymous channels to support cyber-terrorism and related crimes. A detailed forensic analysis of the suspect’s cryptocurrency transactions provided the evidence for the claims.
IGP Kayode Egbetokun reiterated the NPF’s commitment to maintaining peace and taking decisive action against individuals or groups who threaten the country’s stability. He assured the public that the investigation would continue to explore all aspects of the conspiracy and that those involved would face legal consequences.
