Investigative journalist David Hundeyin has provided clarification regarding the recent declaration by the Nigeria Police Force, which labeled him as an accomplice in the trial of whistleblower Isaac Tamunobifiri, also known as PIDOM.
In an interview on Wednesday, Hundeyin explained that the move against him is linked to his commitment to truth-telling, which he believes is seen as an affront by the current administration. He suggested that there have been concerted efforts to involve him in a criminal investigation as a means to discredit his international refugee status and potentially place him on an Interpol notice list.
Hundeyin further alleged that in 2023, the National Intelligence Agency made several attempts to abduct him from overseas due to his exposure of corruption and other wrongdoings by high-ranking government officials. These attempts reportedly occurred in both Ghana and Kenya, prompting Hundeyin to relocate to the United Kingdom for his safety.
“There were several attempts by the National Intelligence Agency to abduct me. They also tried to render me stateless. I even tried to change my country twice. There was an attempt to abduct me from Ghana, then I had to move to Kenya; and when they came for me in Kenya, I ran to the United Kingdom.”
“This is part of the price that you have to pay when you decide to say the truth at the time it wasn’t fashionable to do so, especially a regime that sees truth-telling as an affront or threat to it,” he stressed.
Speaking on whether he knew he was declared an accomplice in PIDOM’s trial, Hundeyin said he had always prepared for it, which is why he decided to go public, especially after examining the way the whistleblower X handle reached out to him and the scenarios that made the handler give him access to the account.
“The attempts by those people to hack my devices, which led to me replacing them, made it clear to me that some things were going on that I didn’t want to be a party to. The educated guess that I had then was that this was probably a state security attempt to rope me into some criminal investigation to discredit my international refugee status and go after political opponent journalists and whistleblowers like myself and PIDOM. It is a thing Nigeria, and other countries are likely to do.”
“And just like I guess, truth to form, they named me a suspect in an ongoing criminal investigation for the purpose of creating a narrative basis possibly to put me on an Interpol notice list which makes it more difficult for me to travel essentially to make the world feel like they are closing in on me. And as you know getting hold of David Hundeyin is one of the most important security priorities of the Nigerian establishment. It doesn’t matter that you have terrorists flaunting ransom on TikTok,” he added.
On the status of PIDOM, Hundeyin alleged that the suspect was sprayed with a toxic substance in FCID detention and had been having extreme difficulty breathing since then, stressing, “He cannot breathe properly; you can hear it in his voice. Clearly, something is wrong with him.”
Recall that Hundeyin and one Michael Alade are Bristol Isaac, aka PIDOMNigeria’s accomplices.
PIDOMNigeria was accused of leaking classified and restricted documents, fraud, sedition, and tax evasion, among others.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the Force Spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said PIDOM was arrested following a petition from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Adejobi added that when operatives of the National Cybercrime Centre stormed PIDOM’s hotel, he resisted arrest, locked himself up, destroyed his phone, and flushed it down the toilet.
Earlier, PIDOM was reminded in Kuje correctional facility, Abuja.
PIDOM was arraigned on Tuesday on nine counts brought against him by the Inspector General of Police, including alleged money laundering, cybercrime, and disseminating classified secret documents.
Count one read, “That you Bristol Tamunobifiri ‘M’ 41 years of No. 36 Hardy Avenue, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court sometime between 2023 and August 2024, accessed the computer network using your X handle @Pidomnigeria with username #99%oppresed to mobilise and solicit support from Nigerians to unduly compel the Federal Government of Nigeria to perform or abstain from performing certain acts through a movement you promoted with the hashtag #Endbadgovernanceinnigeria and you thereby commit an offence punishable under section 18(1) of the cybercrime (prohibition and prevention e.t.c) Act 2015 as amended 2024.”
