By Damilare Adeleye
Report has emerged that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has detained one Isaac Bristol, believed to be the controversial anonymous whistleblower popularly known as 99% Oppressed.
Understandly, 99% Oppressed operates an X account with the handle @PIDOMNIGERIA, which often publishes leaks indicting the government and its officials.
However, the social media was taken aback on Thursday night when news broke out that PIDOMNIGERIA went missing. Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin published details of his conversation with someone claiming to be a confidant of the detainee.
Hundeyin added that the person who reached out to him via @PIDOMNIGERIA’s X account claimed that the police arrested Isaac on August 5.
Exclusively, 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.”
It is understood that 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 the country.