He described the deliberate seizure of his devices and their subsequent manipulation presents a troubling pattern of activities of the officers at the IRT.
Adaramoye Michael Lenin, the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has sounded the alarm that his phone, seized by the Nigeria Police Force's Intelligence Response Team (IRT) is being used to scam Nigerians, particularly those in his contact list.
Lenin, one of the 11 #EndBadGovernance protesters facing trial for treason and terrorism, issued a public notice demanding immediate investigation and action.
According to Lenin, the police have held onto his phone and laptop since his arrest, arraignment, and prison remand, despite concluding their investigation.
Narrating the troubling incident the activist who explained that the last time he saw his phone was at the hands of Police officers at the IRT, lamented that upon his return from prison on October 3, he was informed by friends who had been making efforts to reach out to him when the news of his release broke out that his WhatsApp had been made active.
"My attention has been drawn to the use of my confiscated phone for suspicious and fraudulent activities. There have been suspicious activities connected to the unlawful use of my properties with the police (IRT), especially my mobile phone," he said.
"First, upon my return from prison on Thursday, October 3rd, I was informed by friends who have been making effort to reach out to me when the news of my release broke out that my WhatsApp has been made active."
"The last time I saw my phone, it was in the hands of police officers of the IRT who refused to hand it over to the officers of the correctional centre. It is, therefore, surprising to hear that my WhatsApp was activated for use.
"This suspicious activities seem to have taken the dimension of attempt to use my name to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, especially those on my contact list which can easily be accessed on my phone.
"An innocent person almost fell victim of these fraudsters. One of my contacts who was called today by (09033452577) (exposed by Truecaller app to be ‘Abbey security’) called to pose as ‘Michael’ and tried to lure her into sending money into an opay account with the number (81370799256) and name ‘Daniel Kehinde’."
He posited that there was a great chance that the person exposed by Truecaller is a security agent, given their Truecaller identity name.
He described the deliberate seizure of his devices and their subsequent manipulation presents a troubling pattern of activities of the officers at the IRT.
"This could mean that the IRT officers have corruptly taken ownership of our devices for their own personal use".
This he said is not only corrupt, but the way and manner they have decided to use the device after converting it for personal use can only mean that the officers of the IRT are themselves worse than the criminals they claim to investigate.
"This deliberate misuse of my personal devices also endangers the unsuspecting public, including those on my contact list, exposing them to financial fraud and emotional distress.
"Since the conclusion of the investigation of the IRT, it is important that our phones and laptops which sum up millions of Naira should be returned."
The activist called on civil society organisations, digital rights advocates, and the judiciary to address these abuses and ensure that activists are not further victimized through the exploitation of their personal information. "The violation of my privacy and the endangerment of others through this fraudulent activity demand immediate investigation and reparative action."
SaharaReporters reported earlier that Micheal Adaramoye (Lenin) recounted his experience in the hands of the Nigerian police, stating that he had no place to sleep, and was starved by police operatives for four days.