THE Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to urgently intervene and protect Mubarak Bello, a whistleblower being persecuted by the Katsina State Police Command.
In a letter dated October 24, 2025, and addressed to the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu, a senior advocate, the coalition urged the commission to immediately offer full protection to Bello, whom it described as being in “immediate danger” following his arrest and detention by the Katsina State Police Command.
Bello, an entrepreneur who operated a business centre within the Katsina Police headquarters, had for years exposed an alleged ghost-worker payroll fraud involving officers in the command. His disclosures, backed by petitions to anti-graft agencies including the ICPC, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Attorney General of the Federation, prompted an initial investigation by the ICPC.
Earlier in September, The ICIR reported that the coalition petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, demanding Bello’s release and protection.
The ICIR reported that Bello was arrested over accusations of unlawful possession of firearms, impersonation, and use of a fake police ID card. However, investigations by The ICIR revealed that Bello’s police identity card had been issued as part of a fraudulent recruitment process he later exposed.
The ICPC had also confirmed inviting key suspects, including senior officers CSP Bashir Abubakar and ASP Yakubu Ibrahim, but they reportedly refused to appear for questioning. Despite the commission’s request, the police hierarchy under the IGP had yet to release the indicted officers.
Meanwhile, in its latest letter to the ICPC, the coalition accused the police of unlawfully detaining Bello and subjecting him to harassment and torture in retaliation for exposing the alleged payment fraud involving personnel of the Katsina Police Command.
“We note with every sense of responsibility that if no critical oversight institution of state wades into this case to protect the whistleblower, he might die from the injuries from the atrocious attacks continually unleashed on him by some elements in the police. To that extent, we are regrettably constrained to write to you to take immediate steps to offer full protection to this whistleblower, in view of the obvious and immediate danger around him at this time,” the coalition wrote.
The coalition emphasised that the ICPC, as one of the key agencies managing Nigeria’s Whistleblowing Policy under the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), had both the legal and moral duty to protect whistleblowers from reprisals.
It reminded the commission that under Section 12 of the whistleblowing policy, individuals who disclose wrongdoing in the public interest are entitled to full protection from retaliation.
It further cited Article 33 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which obligates member states, including Nigeria, to protect whistleblowers from harm.
Describing the police’s actions as “uncivilised and anti-democratic,” the coalition urged Aliyu to use his office to ensure Bello’s immediate protection and halt what it called “ongoing police reprisals.”
“It is indeed a shame that the Nigeria Police Force that ought to act as a rehabilitative institution has continued to show itself as a retaliatory agent in the whistleblowing process. This uncivilised anti-democratic behaviour must stop.
It is for this reason that we urge you most passionately to quickly deploy the powers of your office to put an immediate stop to the ongoing police reprisals against Bello, who incidentally places his only hope of rescue from his vicious persecution on the ICPC,” the coalition added.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M