THE Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PRNigeria, Yushau Shuaib, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, demanding an investigation into alleged unlawful access to a private editorial email belonging to PRNigeria by officials of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS)
He revealed that an internal editorial email from PRNigeria mysteriously appeared as an attachment in an official query served to him by NIPSS, raising serious questions about how the confidential communication was accessed.
Shuaib said that he was once a participant in the prestigious Senior Executive Course (SEC 47) at NIPSS, and two senior NIPSS officials, A.A. Mustapha and Elias Wahab, informed him of a pending query.
Shuaib explained that the query sent on behalf of the Acting Director of Studies Nima Salman Mann, a lawyer, arrived with an attachment of a document not related to NIPSS protocols or any misconduct, but of a private email from PRNigeria titled “Understanding the ‘Blue’ in the Blue Economy: A PR Perspective.”
In a petition dated July 1, 2025, addressed to the IGP, Shuaib accused NIPSS officials of unlawfully accessing a private editorial email belonging to his organisation.
“This email was never sent to, copied to, or shared with any NIPSS official,” Shuaib said 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,” he added.
He called on the Nigeria Police Force to invite Nima Salman Mann, Mustapha, and Wahab for questioning, and to launch a thorough and impartial investigation into the unauthorised access to PRNigeria’s email.
“A thorough technical analysis could uncover digital footprints or access logs that may help trace the source and method of the unauthorised intrusion,” he said.
According to him, the petition draws attention to possible breaches of the Cybercrime Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024), referencing Section 24, which criminalises the unlawful interception of electronic communications.
While urging that all individuals found culpable be identified and prosecuted in accordance with the Cybercrime Act, Shuaib also called for the implementation of safeguards to prevent future breaches of digital privacy by public institutions.
He highlighted the sensitive nature of PRNigeria’s operations, noting that the platform frequently handled security-related information and depended on anonymous sources who got guaranteed digital safety and confidentiality.
“The illegal breach of our internal system by these NIPSS officials not only threatens the foundation of our editorial independence but also endangers the safety and anonymity of our trusted sources,” he warned.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.