David Hundeyin, an investigative journalist, stressed that Nigerian authorities are repressing journalists like him because their work exposes government officials. He stressed that it is why the Nigeria Police Force accused him of being involved in the trial of whistleblower Isaac Tamunobifiri, allegedly known as PIDOM.
Speaking on News Central Television Breakfast Central on Wednesday, Hundeyin stated that the Nigerian Police declared him wanted only because of his commitment to speaking the truth to an administration that perceives this as a challenge.
He added that there were also desperate efforts to implicate him in the criminal investigation to undermine his international refugee status and have him placed on an Interpol notice list, among other motives.
“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 to create 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. As you know, getting hold of David Hundeyin is one of the most important security priorities for the Nigerian establishment. It doesn’t matter that you have terrorists flaunting ransom on TikTok,” he added.
The journalist noted it wasn’t the first time the Nigerian government had come after him, highlighting that in 2023, the National Intelligence Agency made multiple attempts to forcibly take him from foreign countries due to his exposure of misconduct by high-ranking government officials. He stated that these attempts occurred in Ghana and Kenya before he relocated 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. When they came for me in Kenya, I ran to the United Kingdom.
Speaking to reporters in Abuja on Tuesday, the Force Spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi, said that PIDOM had been apprehended based on a complaint from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Adejobi stated that when officers from the National Cybercrime Centre arrived at PIDOM’s hotel, he resisted arrest, barricaded himself, destroyed his phone, and disposed of it in the toilet.
On Tuesday, the Inspector General of Police formally charged PIDOM with nine offences, including alleged money laundering, cybercrime, and disseminating classified secret documents.
He is currently being held at the Kuje Correctional Facility in Abuja.