HURIWA said the allegations involve Barrister Nima Salman Mann, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha and Professor Elias Wahab, and could raise issues under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and other cybersecurity laws.
  The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticised the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Tunji Disu, and the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) over the alleged delay in investigating petitions concerning alleged cybercrime, unlawful interception of private communications and data protection breaches at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
HURIWA, in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, said more than a year after the petitions were filed, neither the Nigeria Police Force nor the NDPC had publicly disclosed the status of their investigations.

The petitions, submitted on July 1, 2025, by PRNigeria Publisher, Yushau A. Shuaib, allegedly concerned the unauthorised access, interception and use of private digital correspondence belonging to him and his organisation during disciplinary proceedings at NIPSS.
HURIWA said the allegations involve Barrister Nima Salman Mann, Rear Admiral Abubakar Abdullahi Mustapha and Professor Elias Wahab, and could raise issues under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and other cybersecurity laws.
The group urged the NDPC, led by National Commissioner Vincent Olatunji, to clarify the status of the petition, disclose any interim findings and explain measures being taken to prevent similar incidents in public institutions.

It also called on Disu to direct the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) to expedite its investigation and invite the individuals named in the petitions for questioning.
HURIWA alleged that the police had yet to question some of those named, particularly Rear Admiral Mustapha, whom it described as central to allegations of intimidation, institutional bullying and unlawful interception of private correspondence.
The rights group also raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest, alleging that Mann and Mustapha are members of the National Institute alongside former Deputy Inspector-General of Police Sadiq Idris Abubakar, who previously supervised the FCID.
It warned that any perception of preferential treatment based on institutional affiliations could undermine public confidence in law enforcement and equality before the law.
HURIWA said the controversy had received renewed public attention following Shuaib's memoir, MNI Versus MNIPR in NIPSS: Tackling Institutional Bullying, which recounts his experience during the 2025 Senior Executive Course at NIPSS.
However, the organisation stressed that the alleged cybercrime and data protection breaches should be investigated independently of civil litigation arising from Shuaib's withdrawal from the programme.
“An elementary principle of law is that the existence of a civil suit does not bar criminal investigation or prosecution where criminal offences are alleged,” HURIWA said.
The organisation warned that continued inaction could reinforce perceptions of selective justice and weaken confidence in Nigeria's law enforcement and data protection institutions.
It urged both the police and NDPC to act promptly and transparently, saying the matter had gone beyond an individual grievance and now represented a test of Nigeria's commitment to enforcing its data protection and cybersecurity laws.