The Nigerian police have been accused of trying to inject Isaac Bristol with an unidentified substance, suspected to be poison.
The police authorities have identified Bristol as the operator of the social media handles @PIDOMNigeria.
SaharaReporters reported on Monday that the police had filed a nine-count charge bordering on mobilising support for the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests, held from August 1 to 10.
He was also accused of treason and revealing a classified document to the public.
The charge sheet obtained by SaharaReporters on Monday, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/456/2024 and filed on September 2, 2024, at Federal High Court Abuja Judicial Division, notes that the case is between the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun as the Complaint and Bristol Isaac Tamunobifiri as the Defendant.
The charges were filed by Simon Lough (SAN) and other members of his legal team on behalf of the Inspector General of Police.
SaharaReporters had reported that Bristol was arrested on August 5, 2024, by officials from the National Cybercrime Centre for suspected cyber-related offenses. The police had stated that they were conducting a thorough investigation into several allegations against him.
According to West Africa Weekly on Tuesday, Isaac Bristol disclosed in a telephone conversation that the Deputy Director (DCP) of the National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC) personally visited him in his cell and sprayed something there.
Bristol told the newspaper that he had felt sick and had been experiencing difficulty in breathing since then.
West Africa Weekly said it observed in Bristol’s voice in the phone conversation that he had difficulty in breathing, alongside constant wheezing and coughing.
Bristol also alleged that the police attempted to inject him with an unidentified substance while he was with the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID).
On Friday, August 30, SaharaReporters reported that the health condition of Bristol had deteriorated after being denied medical attention by the Nigeria Police Force.
Sources told SaharaReporters that Bristol had been subjected to inhuman treatment and was being held in solitary confinement at the Force headquarters.
One of the sources said: “To be honest and candid with you, Isaac’s health condition has worsened; the injuries on his body are festering.
“He has been neglected by his assigned Investigating Police Officer (IPO) and denied hospital visit by the CP (Uche) despite being scheduled for it repeatedly,” the source lamented, adding that “he looks very sick, bony, and weak.”
The source further noted that Isaac Bristol had been completely isolated from other ‘prisoners’, adding that “fellow inmates have been instructed by the police authorities not to communicate with him or help him in any way.”
“His IPO has neglected his duty, and Isaac may as well be on the verge of death,” the source decried, calling on well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Nigerian police not to kill Isaac.
