A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has remanded journalist, Isaac Bristol, AKA PIDOM on charges bordering on money laundering, cybercrime, and unlawfully obtaining, retaining, and disseminating classified official secret documents
Justice Emeka Nwite remanded him on Tuesday after being arraigned by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for mobilising and soliciting support to “unduly compel” the government to act or abstain from certain acts through the #EndBadGovernance protest, false money-laundering allegations against President Bola Tinubu, and unlawfully obtaining, retaining and disseminating classified secret documents in contravention of the official Secret Act 1962.
His lawyer, Abubakar Marshal, after mentioning his appearance took the permission of the court and asked Deji Adeyanju to continue with the case.
Adeyanju urged the court to grant his client bail on health grounds but the oral application was rejected by the judge as he asked him to come up with a formal and written application for bail.
He also pleaded with the judge to order the defendant to be remanded in the custody of the police owing to his health challenges.
Following his plea of not guilty, Justice Nwite adjourned the case to the 23rd of September, 2024 for the ruling of the bail application filed on behalf of the defendant and then ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The development followed his arrest on August 5, 2024, in his hotel room in Rivers State.
Nigerian Police Force spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said he was arrested on allegations of “committing serious offences that undermine the integrity of government operations”.
The statement added that there were several allegations levelled against the suspect, including unlawful possession, leakages of classified documents, cyber-related offences, and others.
The statement further added that the Police Force would leave no stone unturned to continually enforce the law and bequeath to Nigerians a more secure nation.
The confirmation came after investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, revealed that PIDOM had been arrested.
Hundeyin’s post sparked concern among the Nigerian online community, prompting a trending campaign on X (formerly Twitter) calling for the whereabouts and release of PIDOM, using hashtags like #PIDOM, #FreePidom, and #WhereisPidom, among others.