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26.08.2024 Featured Some Public-Interest Leaks by ‘PIDOM’ That May Have Embarrassed FG

Published 26th Aug, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

In the last one year, @PIDOMNigeria, a whistleblower and micro-blogger on X, has published high-profile public-interest documents showing official corruption and misconduct within the government.

In addition to leaking official documents that gave Nigerians a peek into public funds mismanagement, PIDOM also produced series of police secret wireless memos, sometimes about the Nigeria Police Force‘s intention to crack down on dissent.

This put him on the security establishments’ radar. On August 5, the police arrested him. He has been put under harrowing conditions since his arrest, unable to meet the police’s stringent administrative bail terms.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Handcuffed for Days, Thrown in a Hole, 6 Days of Solitary Confinement… How Police Dehumanised PIDOMNigeria

FIJ spotlights some of the key documents PIDOM has released in the past. Some have been confirmed by the government to be true while some have been left with no official reaction.

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

On October 15, he tweeted an internal memo that showed how the president and his retinue of aides spent over $500,000 on accommodation and allied incidents while attending the 78th United Nations General Assembly in London.

“How Tinubu spent a whopping sum of four hundred and twenty-two thousand, eight hundred and twenty US dollars ($422,820) on hotel reservations for him and his close aides alone in just 7 days, at the just concluded United Nations General Assembly UNGA. An equivalent of 422,820,000 million naira in 7 days,” PIDOM wrote.

“From 16th of September to 23rd of September 2023. Despite the fact that there is a Nigerian House in New York, where taxpayers money are budgeted annually to maintain. As if that is not bad enough, he also spent an additional eighty-four thousand, five hundred and sixty-four US dollars ($84,564) on incidentals. An equivalent of 84,564,000 million naira.”

On August 20, 10 months after PIDOM’s revelation, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s spokesperson and special presidential envoy on climate action, confirmed that officials wasted $500,000 during the said UN event, promising to set up a portal to ensure accountability at the forthcoming one.

“NO PROTEST WILL BE ALLOWED”

On July 29, the micro-blogger revealed a police secret document directing all its formations to mobilise and prevent the #EndBadGovernance protest, a mass action by the people against living cost crisis, from taking place. The document bore reference number DTO/081000/07/2024.

“People planning the ‘END BAD GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA’ 2024 protest, be informed that the Nigerian police @PoliceNG is planning something bad for you guys. They said that no form of protest must be allowed during this period. See secret signal below. Please repost massively and restrategise. I know this post of mine will cause trouble for me, but I no send their papa,” he tweeted along with the document.

Following days of intense engagement with advocacy groups and media backlash, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun backtracked, promising that the protesters would be protected.

N90 BILLION HAJJ SUBSIDY PAYMENT

Through his handle on February 15, PIDOM also revealed the government’s plan to release over N24 billion to subsidise pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia by some Muslims. The Federal Ministry of Finance had requested Tinubu to approve the release of the money for that purpose.

A few months later, he published another memo showing the pilgrimage subsidy had been increased to N90 billion; he also revealed some undisclosed details about the payment.

“The 90 billion naira Tinubu approved for 2024 Hajj pilgrimage subsidy was sourced from the service-wide vote. Code: 23050119. There was no budgetary provision for it, neither did the National Assembly appropriate it. But it was approved. Chai! Christians get ready for your own,” his tweet read.

READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Why NPF-NCCC, FCID Tracked, Abducted ‘PIDOMNigeria’

The document to that effect, dated February 21, emanated from the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

FIJ had earlier reported that the police are accusing him of violating Nigeria’s Official Secrets Act (OSA), committing espionage, treasonable felony and computer wire fraud.

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Published 26th Aug, 2024

By Sodeeq Atanda

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