November 24, 2024
By Ayinde Adeleke
A British court has found David Hundeyin, a Nigerian investigative journalist, guilty of libel and ordered him to pay £95,000 in damages to Charles Northcott, a BBC journalist.
Hundeyin had made several allegations against Northcott in his article “Journalism Career Graveyard,” including accusations of using his position to obtain sexual favors from Kiki Mordi, a Nigerian Emmy-nominated journalist.
The court’s decision stated, “I accept C’s evidence that D’s libel has had a very serious impact on him both professionally and personally and caused him serious harm and distress.”
The court awarded Northcott £95,000 in damages, including aggravated damages, to compensate him for the damage to his reputation and to vindicate his good name.
The controversy began in 2019 when Mordi collaborated with a team from the BBC to produce a documentary exposing lecturers at Nigerian universities who prey on vulnerable female students.
Hundeyin published his article three years later, accusing Northcott of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with Mordi and favoring her to work on the documentary.
Hundeyin’s article and subsequent posts on social media caused significant distress and damage to Northcott’s reputation.
The court noted that Hundeyin’s behavior post-publication fell within the principles of aggravated damages and trolling, causing Mordi and Northcott distress.
The court also ordered the website operators to remove the relevant part of Hundeyin’s article, which it found offensive.
Hundeyin was neither present nor represented in court, and the court passed judgment in his absence.
