For those who do not know him, PIDOM is an anonymous Nigerian whistleblower who has gained fame and notoriety over the past 4 years for a series of high-profile document leaks and online exposés showcasing various appendages and apparatchiks of the Nigerian government at their malfeasant, abominable worst.

His leaks have caused embarrassment at the highest levels of government multiple times, resulting in multiple high level warnings from the Presidency to the civil service invoking the Official Secrets Act. This happened most recently in June.

While PIDOM and I have always maintained a friendly and mutually respectful relationship, we have generally worked independently of each other. It is however, public knowledge that my Twitter handle is the only one that he follows. This has often fed the impression that “PIDOM NIGERIA” is in fact, a David Hundeyin alter ego – an idea that neither of us has been eager to dispel as it has provided an extra layer of security for him.

On occasion, we have even collaborated on big stories and we touch base and share information with each other via direct messages and voice calls from time to time. I would go as far as to say that we have become good friends over the years – within the boundaries necessitated by our unique security situations. He has never disclosed his location, his photograph, his government name or any other identifying information to me. I also do not have his direct contact number, and I know nothing about his family situation.

PIDOM and I had not spoken since early August, because I was actually somewhat displeased with him due to a difference in opinion regarding the recent #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests. While I favoured stepping back and allowing Nigerians to speak for themselves organically, PIDOM was of the idea that “defacto leadership” needed to be established to assist the protest logistically. Consequently, he had made what I considered to be an error of judgment in the process of trying to ease logistics for protesters, leading to an online spectacle that was predictably seized upon by the government as evidence of “politicians funding the protests so as to achieve regime change.”

What Happened

Given this background, I had no idea what to do when this person claiming to be his close associate reached out to me using his account, offering me his login details. The purported associate claimed that PIDOM was arrested on August 5 in Port Harcourt and transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja shortly thereafter, where he remains under the purview of the National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC).

According to this unidentified person, PIDOM’s instructions to him/her were that if anything were to happen to him, the login details of his account should be handed over to me. Supposedly, his phone was destroyed during the arrest and given the alleged lack of evidence tying him to the Twitter handle, a case for his innocence could be made stronger if I used his account and tweeted in his voice. Supposedly, this person said, he had been granted administrative bail with “stringent conditions.”

I reflexively disbelieved the story and I noticed that this person made a subtle attempt to ask me for my WhatsApp number. Nonetheless, I tried to press him/her for more information by accusing them of working for the government. Their response was to give me what purported to be login details for PIDOM’s account.