David Hundeyin Ordered To Pay £95,000 Over False Allegations

 

The Royal Courts of Justice in the United Kingdom has delivered a landmark judgment against David Hundeyin, a controversial Nigerian investigative journalist, ordering him to pay £95,000 in damages for defamation.

The court found Hundeyin guilty of making baseless and damaging allegations against Charles Northcott, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalist, in an article titled “Journalism Career Graveyard.”

The judgment, handed down on October 8, 2024, came as a stinging rebuke to Hundeyin, whose claims accused Northcott of abusing his position during the production of the BBC’s Sex for Grades documentary.

In his article, Hundeyin alleged that Northcott had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Kiki Mordi, the Nigerian journalist who served as the on-screen reporter for the exposé. He further claimed that this alleged relationship sidelined another contributor, Oge Obi, whom Hundeyin credited as the mastermind of the documentary.

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In court, Northcott vehemently denied the allegations and provided evidence of the professional and personal harm Hundeyin’s claims had caused.

“The libel has had a very serious impact on me both professionally and personally and caused me serious harm and distress,” Northcott said in his statement.

The court agreed, awarding him £95,000, including aggravated damages, to vindicate his reputation and compensate for the distress caused by Hundeyin’s false publication.

The court also ordered the removal of the defamatory article from Hundeyin’s website, citing his failure to comply with an earlier directive issued in July.

However, Hundeyin, known for his brazen online persona, was neither present nor represented in court when the judgment was delivered.

The case dates back to 2019, when the Sex for Grades documentary was released, exposing lecturers in Nigerian universities preying on vulnerable female students. Mordi collaborated with Northcott and others at the BBC to produce the award-winning film.

However, in 2022, Hundeyin published his article alleging misconduct between Mordi and Northcott, sparking an online frenzy.

Hundeyin’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) gained significant traction, with hashtags and tweets reaching over 40 million impressions between September and October 2022.

Hundeyin tagged Mordi and Northcott in his tweets, daring them to take legal action. In one post, he wrote, “Then why don’t you sue me for categorically stating that you had sex multiple times with @CNorthcott1 in the course of producing that documentary?”

He also shared a video of Northcott and Mordi in Trafalgar Square, insinuating a romantic link, but the court found no evidence to support these claims. Instead, it labeled Hundeyin’s actions as trolling and harassment, emphasizing the distress and reputational damage caused to both Northcott and Mordi.

Northcott’s legal team, led by Ms. Wilson, argued that Hundeyin’s conduct amounted to a calculated campaign of defamation and cyberbullying.

The court agreed, stating that Hundeyin’s actions fell within the scope of aggravated damages, as his behavior post-publication was designed to maximize distress for the complainants.