Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin has responded after the Royal Courts of Justice, a British court, found him guilty of libel and ordered him to pay the sum of £95,000 as damages to Charles Northcott, the British Broadcasting Corporations (BBC) Journalist who Hundeyin made certain allegations against in his “Journalism Career Graveyard” article.
Journalism Career Graveyard Article
In his Journalism career graveyard article, Hundeyin made several allegations against Northcott, including accusing Northcott of using his position as the director of the documentary film to obtain sexual favors from Kiki Mordi, Nigerian Emmy-nominated journalist, who was the on-screen reporter for the BBC’s Sex for Grades documentary.
In his article, David alleged that another BBC reporter, Oge Obi whom he listed as the brain behind the documentary was not given adequate credit for the documentary due to Northcott bringing in Kiki Mordi to take her place.
Court Judgement
In the aftermath of the article, Northcott brought a libel suit against Hundeyin claiming damage to his personal reputation. In the court judgement, a fine of £95,000 was awarded against Hundeyin.
The judgement read in part “The court awards C £95,000 damages, including aggravated damages. This is an appropriate sum to compensate C for the damage to his reputation caused by D and to vindicate his good name; and it takes appropriate account of the distress, hurt and humiliation which D’s false and defamatory publication has caused him, as well as D’s aggravating conduct,”
Hundeyin’s Response
Responding to the order on his X handle, David Hundeyin stated “For the record, I stand by everything I have ever written in my official capacity as an investigative journalist.
“I do not need to defend the my stories because they speak for themselves, and my long list of honours is testament to the depth and rigour I put into my work.”
Going further he noted “The details of the supposed case are all over the timeline so there’s no need to rehash them, but the key points to note here are that 1) The story was written about events that took place entirely in Nigeria; 2) West Africa Weekly is a registered company in the state of Wyoming, with its address and registration details in the public domain; 3) The supposed case was hurriedly filed in London the day after I landed at Heathrow Airport for my Fellowship in January 2023.
“I reiterate yet again that I stand by EVERYTHING I have ever published, and if the oyibo opportunist and his Nigerian proxies cannot accept that someone has the ability to stand on principle without his knees shaking, then that’s tough for them. I didn’t come this far in my career by being weak or brittle, and I have contended with far more powerful, resourced, consequential and intelligent enemies than a whiny opportunist who cannot stomach the idea of having his bullshit called out by a member of a group that he has been raised to think of as genetically inferior to his own.
“I come from a part of the world that was famously known as the “White Man’s Graveyard.” I am a descendant of the West African warriors and malaria parasites that gave it that name. I do not fear white people, and I ESPECIALLY do not like white people who try to bully me for doing my legitimate work.” He concluded.
