NIPSS officials ‘ignore’ police invitation over alleged cybercrime against PRNigeria publisher
Three high-ranking officials of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) have reportedly refused to honour a police invitation two months after a formal petition was filed against them. The petition was filed against the trio for alleged cybercrime and digital rights violations targeting the publisher of PRNigeria, Yushau A. Shuaib. Sources explained […]
Three high-ranking officials of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) have reportedly refused to honour a police invitation two months after a formal petition was filed against them.
The petition was filed against the trio for alleged cybercrime and digital rights violations targeting the publisher of PRNigeria, Yushau A. Shuaib.
Sources explained that the refusal to appear stems from the fact that the Head of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), a Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), is also a member of the prestigious National Institute (mni), like most of the accused.
The officials who have allegedly refused to honour the invitation are Rear Admiral A. A. Mustapha, Barrister Nima Salman Mann and Professor Elias Wahab, all of whom hold high administrative roles at the NIPSS.
The case originated from a petition filed by Yushau A. Shuaib, the Founder and CEO of PRNigeria, to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on July 1, 2025.
The petition calls for an investigation into the unlawful interception of a private editorial email belonging to the security-focused media platform.
Shuaib, who was a participant in NIPSS’ Senior Executive Course (SEC 47) before his “questionable and vindictive” withdrawal, detailed how a private internal editorial email titled “Understanding the ‘Blue’ in the Blue Economy: A PR Perspective” mysteriously appeared as an attachment in an official query issued to him by NIPSS officials.
“This email was never sent to, copied to, or shared with any NIPSS official,” Shuaib asserted in his petition.
“Its appearance in an internal disciplinary proceeding indicates an alarming breach of digital privacy and suggests unauthorised surveillance, data intrusion, or unlawful system access.”
Shuaib emphasised that the illegal breach of PRNigeria’s internal system not only threatens the foundation of the platform’s editorial independence but also endangers the safety and anonymity of its trusted security sources.
The petition highlights potential violations of Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, which prohibits the unlawful interception of electronic communications.
Shuaib urged the Nigeria Police Force to invite Barrister Nima Salman Mann (Acting Director of Studies), Rear Admiral A.A. Mustapha, and Professor Elias Wahab (both Directing Staff) for questioning, to conduct a comprehensive and impartial investigation, and to prosecute all culpable parties under the Cybercrime Act.
The refusal of the accused officials to honour the police invitation now complicates the investigation into the alleged digital intrusion.
However, Head of Public Affairs Department of NIPSS, Professor Sola Adeyanju, said they didn’t get any letter to that effect.
He said the office of the DG did not receive any letter in that respect, and that in both the Abuja and Jos offices of NIPSS, no office/desk received such a letter in the past one month or more.
He alleged that their stamp could have been cloned.
When contacted on Sunday, the spokesman of the Nigeria police, Benjamin Hundeyin, said he would find out and get back to one of our correspondents.
Hundeyin was yet to do so as of press time.