The Nigeria Police Force has named journalist and social critic David Hundeyin, along with Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri, whom it alleges operates under the X handle @pidomnigeria, as suspects in a case involving criminal conspiracy, sedition, and the unauthorised distribution of classified documents.

Another individual, Michael Temidayo Alade, has also been named in connection with these alleged crimes.

This was disclosed in a statement, with reference number Ref No. CZ.5300/FPRD/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.6/225, forwarded to FIJ on Tuesday by Isaac Hundeyin, spokesman of the Police Western Ports Authority on Wednesday.

According to the police, both Hundeyin and Alade are alleged accomplices in the illegal access and leaking of sensitive documents and similar activities that could jeopardise Nigeria’s security networks.

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The Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) had previously arrested Tamunobifiri in Port Harcourt on August 5, identifying him as the primary suspect in these security-related offences.

“The complaint, filed by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (OSGF), alleged that an anonymous blogger using the Twitter handle @pidomnigeria published and distributed a restricted document on a sensitive matter of national security,” the police statement explained.

“A discrete investigation was initiated to identify those responsible for the leakage, which led to the identification of Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri, Michael Temidayo Alade, and David Hundeyin, as suspects in connection with the alleged crimes.”

The police said “the principal suspect, Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri, was apprehended at a hotel in Port Harcourt on Saturday, 5th August 2024, by NPF-NCCC detectives, and in an attempt to resist arrest, the suspect locked himself in a hotel room, smashed his phone, and flushed it down the toilet in an effort to destroy evidence”.

“He also refused to surrender his phone’s password, claiming he had forgotten it, thereby concealing information,” read the statement, adding that “Tamunobifiri has been involved in funding cyberterrorism through cryptocurrency. Forensic analysis of his crypto wallet is said to have revealed suspicious transactions linked to these activities”.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Tamunobifiri appeared before the Federal High Court on a nine-count charge. Justice Emeka Nwite denied an oral bail application from his lawyer, ordering that he be remanded in Kuje prison.

Tamunobifiri has been in police custody for approximately 28 days and is scheduled for another hearing on September 23.