A renowned Nigerian public relations practitioner, Yushau Shuaib, has petitioned President Bola Tinubu, over what he described as “unjust, humiliating, and deeply distressing” treatment at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, where he was suspended from the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 allegedly over harmless articles supporting the President’s Digital and Blue Economy agenda.

In his petition titled, “Unjust Treatment at NIPSS Over Articles Supporting Digital and Blue Economy Reforms,” Mr Shuaib, founder of PRNigeria, accused the institute of harassment, cyberbullying, and professional ostracisation, despite his full compliance with institutional guidelines and ethical publishing practices.

Mr Shuaib revealed in his petition seen on Sunday by PREMIUM TIMES that following his suspension on 2 May, he was asked to vacate the NIPSS premises immediately.

He noted that the abrupt action shocked his family and colleagues, who were left to speculate on the rationale, especially since all other participants remained in the programme.

“This petition sets the record straight and seeks to prevent false insinuations that could damage my reputation,” he stated in the petition seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Shuaib recounted that on 28 October 2024—shortly after receiving the Golden World Award of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), he was nominated by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations NIPR) to participate in the prestigious SEC 47 Course.

Motivated by this honour, Mr Shuaib said he disengaged from his company, Image Merchants Promotion Ltd, and joined the course in good faith.

However, on 21 March 2025, PRNigeria published a story titled “NIPSS Goes Digital,” which Mr Shuaib neither authored nor edited. The article commended the institute’s transition to a paperless system and highlighted its alignment with the federal government’s digital transformation agenda.

Shortly after the publication, Mr Shuaib was issued a query by Nima Salman Mann, the Acting Director of Studies at NIPSS, and was subsequently pressured by A.A. Mustapha, a rear admiral, to discard his “initial written defence and submit a revised version dictated by them.”

On 7 April, Mr Shuaib said, he was summoned before a disciplinary panel but was denied the opportunity to speak or present his case. “The panel relied exclusively on the rewritten response imposed by Rear Admiral Mustapha, rather than the original defence he had prepared,” Mr Shuaib said.

He was then issued a final warning letter — said to be his first and only formal warning since the commencement of the programme.

Aside from Mr Shuaib, other participants in Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 also reportedly faced disproportionate sanctions.

One was queried for commending infrastructural initiatives of Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State during a vote of thanks in Jos. Another was punished for arriving late after a family emergency, and a third for representing NIPSS in an external engagement.

On 28 April, Mr Shuaib received another query—less than two months after the first. This time, NIPSS cited a restricted internal PRNigeria editorial email dated 25 April, 2025, titled “Understanding the ‘Blue’ in the Blue Economy: A PR Perspective.”

In the article, Mr Shuaib provided insights into the government’s Marine and Blue Economy agenda from a public relations standpoint and did not refer to NIPSS.

Shockingly, Mr Shuaib said, NIPSS accessed the email before it reached its intended editorial recipient.

Mr Shuaib added that the unauthorised interception of this internal correspondence constituted a serious breach of digital privacy and can rightly be described as cyberbullying and cybercrime.

“It is a clear act of unwarranted surveillance and professional misconduct,”

“This act was not just a violation of privacy—it amounted to cyberbullying and professional misconduct,” he stated.

Mr Shuaib said the mental strain from the ordeal reportedly led to him being diagnosed with hypertension at the NIPSS clinic. “With no family nearby, I leaned on supportive colleagues.”

According to Shuaib, an official directive later barred other participants from interacting with him, leaving him completely isolated.

In addition to his suspension and exclusion from all official communication platforms, Mr Shuaib was denied participation in the SEC 47 international study tours, despite having paid the full N18.2 million fee.

“All other participants were granted travel privileges and estacodes for official tours across Africa and other continents,” he said.

Mr Shuaib told an internal investigative committee — convened after his suspension—that while NIPSS’s Terms of Undertaking emphasise confidentiality, they do not define what qualifies as public, restricted, or classified information, nor do they include a communication policy to guide media engagement.

“All my articles were based on publicly available national discourse and never revealed internal NIPSS content,” he said. Following two appearances before the committee in Jos, Mr Shuaib said he received no further communication.

In his concluding appeal to President Tinubu, Mr Shuaib urged an independent investigation into the disciplinary process and cyber-privacy violations and a review of his suspension and exclusion.

He urged the establishment of a clear communication policy for participants at NIPSS.

He also criticised what he described as the excessive militarisation of the academic environment at NIPSS—an approach he says deviates from global best practices at institutions like Brookings (USA), Chatham House (UK), SWP (Germany), and RSIS (Singapore), where constructive dissent and academic freedom are valued.

“All I seek is the opportunity to complete the course, reclaim my dignity, and continue contributing meaningfully to the development of our great nation,” he concluded.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted NIPSS for comment, the Head of Public Affairs Department, Sola Adeyanju, said he would addressed the issue in a statement to be released soon.