October 27,2025
Press Release
The Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has called on the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu Adamu, SAN, to immediately intervene and secure the protection of Mubarak Bello, a whistleblower currently being detained and brutalised by the Katsina State Police Command.
Bello, who exposed payment fraud within the command, was arrested by a police patrol team on the night of September 13, 2025, and has been detained on what the Coalition describes as trumped-up charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and impersonation. He is reportedly facing severe harassment, intimidation, and physical brutalisation while in custody.
The CWPPF, a body of 30 civil society and media organisations, asserts that Bello’s detention is a direct retaliation for his public interest disclosure of wrongdoing to anti corruption agencies, including the ICPC. The Coalition’s investigation confirms that Bello is being punished for his patriotic act of reporting fraud related to police personnel salaries in Katsina State, which qualifies him for protection under international instruments and Nigeria’s whistleblowing policy.
“We note with every sense of responsibility that if no critical oversight institution of state wades into this case, the whistleblower might die from the injuries from the atrocious attacks continually unleashed on him by some elements in the police,” the Coalition stated.
The CWPPF is compelling the ICPC to act based on three critical reasons. First, the ICPC’s own investigation, initiated by Bello’s petition, established a prima facie case of professional misconduct against officers in the Katsina State Police Command, and the Commission had formally requested the Inspector General of Police to release the indicted officers for interrogation, a request that remains unanswered.
Second, as a co-custodian of the federal government’s whistleblower policy under the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), the ICPC has a bounden duty to enforce Section 12 of the whistleblowing policy, which mandates effective protection for whistleblowers facing reprisals.
Third, this duty is reinforced by Nigeria’s commitment to international law, specifically Article 33 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which obligates states to protect individuals who report corruption.
“The Nigeria Police Force, that ought to act as a rehabilitative institution, has continued to show themselves as a retaliatory agent in the whistleblowing process. This uncivilised anti democratic behaviour must stop,” the Coalition’s statement read.
The CWPPF urged the ICPC Chairman to deploy the powers of his office to put an immediate stop to the ongoing police reprisals against Bello and secure his immediate release and safety
Chido Onumah, PhD
Coordinator, AFRICMIL
Endorsed by the following member organisations of the Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF):
Premium Times
Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation
Daily Trust Newspaper
International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)
Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
Civic Media Lab
Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)
International Press Centre (IPC)
International Press Institute (IPI), Nigeria
Media Rights Agenda (MRA)
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ)
Paradigm Initiative
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
HEDA Resources Centre
Wikki Times
Global Rights
Dataphyte Foundation
Accountability Lab Nigeria
FOLEGAL
Women Radio 91.7FM
Inibehe Effiong Chambers
BUK TV & Radio
The Jurist Newspaper Limited
Freedom Radio, Kano
Citizens Gavel Foundation for Social Justice
Hope Behind Bars Africa
Digicivic Initiative
EiE Nigeria
