The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Peter Obi,has condemned the arrest of Isaac Bristol, an investigative journalist and whistleblower popularly known as PIDOMNigeria.
The former Anambra State governor decried the recurring harassment of journalists in the country by the Nigerian authorities, warning that the country risks degenerating into a “Banana Republic” where journalists “are silenced or simply disappear for simply doing their job.”
Fellow investigative journalist, David Hundeyin had revealed that the anonymous whistleblower on X.com, 99% Oppressed, who tweets as #PIDOMNIGERIA, was alive in police custody and will be arraigned in court.
Hundeyin said Isaac had been detained in a dungeon in handcuffs for six days without food before he got wind of his arrest.
Following the publication alerting the public of PIDOM’s sudden disappearance, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed on Saturday that “over 14 petitions filed by individuals, agencies and two state governors” led to his arrest in his hotel room in Rivers State on Thursday, August 5, 2024.
According to Adejobi, officers of the Nigeria Police Force National Crime Cybercrime Centre, or (NPF-NCCC), apprehended PIDOM for committing offences deemed to “undermine the integrity of government operations.”
Allegations against him include unlawful possession and leakage of classified documents, as well as cyber-related offences and others.
Meanwhile, PIDOMNigeria is known for high-profile document leaks and online exposés showcasing various Nigerian government irregularities and injustice perpetrated behind public knowledge.
Reacting to the development via a tweet on his official X handle, @PeterObi, on Tuesday he decried the alarming trend of government agents suppressing information unrelated to national security.
Obi said, “… disturbing and unacceptable” was the harassment, abduction, detention, and other draconian measures against Nigerian investigative journalists by agents of the government lately.
“The fundamental right to free speech is inextricably linked to the right to access information about government activities and decision-making.
“The alarming trend of government agents suppressing information unrelated to national security or interest underscores the urgent need for the Freedom of Information Bill. Citizens rely on journalists and the media to hold those in power accountable, particularly when governments err or overreach.
“Investigative journalists, who play a crucial role in uncovering truth, are protected by the laws that guard and protect freedom of expression in a democracy.
“It is therefore deeply disturbing and unacceptable that Nigerian investigative journalists have of late been subjected to harassment, abduction, detention, and other draconian measures by agents of the government. The disappearance and detention of @PIDOMNIGERIA, a journalist, is a grave concern,” he said.
According to Obi, Nigerian authorities must be held accountable for his whereabouts and any alleged wrongdoing.
He feared “If such actions continue, Nigeria risks degenerating into a Banana Republic where journalists are silenced or simply disappear for simply doing their job.”
“This is not the Nigeria we want or deserve. We demand justice, accountability, and an end to these egregious attacks on press freedom.
“We seek an open society in which citizens express themselves freely, have access to unclassified information and in which government is fully accountable to the citizens. These are the minimum requirements of the new society we seek,” he said.
Growing trend
The Department of State Services (DSS) operatives had last week, arrested an investigative journalist, Adejuwon Soyinka.
Soyinka, the Regional Editor for West Africa at The Conversation Africa and the founding Editor of BBC Pidgin Service, was arrested by DSS operatives at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos upon arrival from the United Kingdom. He was subsequently released, but his passport was seized.
Soyinka abd Bristol's arrest follows a growing trend of arrest of journalists in the country.
Earlier in May, an investigative journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Daniel Ojukwu was arrested by police and held without charge for over a week, leading to growing fears for his safety.
He was reported missing by his colleagues after friends and family were unable to reach him by phone.
FIJ hired private investigators who found his last location before he was arrested, leading journalists to demand answers from Nigerian police.
The police eventually confirmed his arrest and he has since been released on bail after pressure from Nigerians.
Similarly, officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in May, arrested Madu Onuorah, publisher and editor-in-chief of Globalupfront Newspaper, from his residence in Abuja.
Armed police officers reportedly besieged Onuorah’s residence in the Lugbe area around 6pm on Wednesday in two Sienna buses.
Also then editor of FirstNews, an independent digital news network, Segun Olatunji, was abducted by at least ten armed men ‘two of them in military uniforms’ from his home in the Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area in Lagos on 15 March.
Olatunji was released on 28 March by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
He was handed over to the General Secretary of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja.
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