The Royal Courts of Justice in the UK has found David Hundeyin, a self-styled Nigerian investigative journalist, guilty of libel and ordered him to pay £95,000 in damages to Charles Northcott, a BBC journalist whom Hundeyin made serious allegations against in his article titled “Journalism Career Graveyard.”

Hundeyin had accused Northcott of using his position as the director of the documentary Sex for Grades to obtain sexual favours from Kiki Mordi, the Nigerian Emmy-nominated journalist who appeared as the on-screen reporter for the BBC’s investigation into sexual exploitation in Nigerian universities.

“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. His witness statement adopts and develops the particulars of harm pleaded in the PoC, and I accept both in their entirety.

“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,” the court document read in part.

The court also instructed that the relevant part of Hundeyin’s article be removed by the website operators, as it was deemed offensive. The judgment was passed on October 8, 2024. Northcott, the complainant, was represented by Ms. Wilson, while Hundeyin was neither present nor represented in court. The court noted that the judgment was issued in Hundeyin’s absence.

In 2019, Mordi, a freelance journalist, worked with the BBC to produce a 54-minute documentary Sex for Grades, which exposed how some lecturers at Nigerian universities exploited female students by demanding sexual favours in exchange for academic advantages. Mordi collaborated with Northcott and other journalists on the project.

Three years after the documentary’s release, Hundeyin published his article, Journalism Career Graveyard, in which he accused Northcott of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with Mordi and of favouring her to work on the documentary, while sidelining and deceiving Oge Obi, whom Hundeyin claimed was the true mastermind behind the BBC documentary.

In September 2022, Hundeyin shared the article on X (formerly Twitter), which quickly went viral. The article and associated tweets garnered substantial traction. Northcott reported that the post received over 40 million online impressions between September 27 and October 31, 2022.

“I worked with a colleague to run an analysis of the defamatory Article, and its associated hashtags and tweets by Mr Hundeyin, to see how far it had spread between 27 September and 31 October 2022. This analysis suggested the content had received more than 40 million online impressions during this period (which are calculated by tracking the total number of times the content was displayed across Twitter on users’ feeds and on search results). A large percentage of these would have been abroad, but a very significant proportion of Mr Hundeyin’s followers are in England and Wales. He was educated here, has been invited to speak publicly here … and he’s launched two books here – which are sold in British bookstores,” Northcott stated.

Following the article’s publication, Hundeyin posted further comments on X, tagging Mordi and daring her and others to sue him if they took issue with his expose. One of his posts read: “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 and that this formed the sole basis of your fraudulent ‘career’?”

In another post, he wrote, “As for the people who are constantly threatening ‘legal steps’ because my stories have exposed their true nature to their international donors, NGOs and state actors, here is @WestAfricaWeek’s address. If you don’t sue me, you are all bastards. I double dare you…”

Hundeyin also shared a video of Northcott and Mordi climbing onto a statue at Trafalgar Square, captioning it: “Hi @kikimordi. I’m sure you never thought this video of you and @CNorthcott1 would ever surface, but that is why real journalism will never die when people like me are around. Your ‘career’ is over, you glory hunting, honey trapping fraud!”

Northcott sued Hundeyin for libel, arguing that his actions had severely impacted his career and caused significant harm. The court ordered Hundeyin to remove the article, but he ignored the order.

The court noted that the video shared by Hundeyin did not provide any evidence to support his allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship. It also highlighted that Hundeyin’s conduct after publishing the article, which included trolling and persecution, was aggravating and had caused significant distress to both Northcott and Mordi.

“All of D’s behaviour post-publication comfortably falls within the principles in relation to aggravated damages that I outlined earlier. D, having seriously libelled C, then embarked upon a campaign of trolling and persecution in a manner calculated to cause C and Ms. Mordi maximum distress and damage. Moreover, he has failed to take down the Article as ordered by this court in July,” the court’s statement concluded.

Legal experts have warned that individuals donating funds to Simon Ekpa could face charges of terrorism.

Despite the Finnish police’s detention of the separatist leader, some members of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are still urging people to contribute money.

In a video shared on X, titled “Biafra Freedom. Vote, Donate, Support BRGIE,” the group’s purported Minister of Information, @Akparawasunny, on Saturday featured a woman identified as Ada Biafra, who claimed Ekpa would return next week. She said, “A flier is there our supporters (a flier that contains the information about the donation). We are buying groundnuts (bullets) for the gallant men, because no groundnut that goes out comes back in. We need to refill,” she explained.

On X, @kingchuks01 declared, “Whether they like or not we must talk about Biafra and we must achieve Biafra.”

In response, @Chrismo80164240 commented, “You shouldn’t be talking about donation if truly you guys are serious about December 2nd declaration. I only see it as scam. By the way let me ask you, donate to do what with the money?”

Meanwhile, @realdonpri wrote, “Let him stay there so he can feel the same pain those poor people in SE has been feeling every Monday. It’s easy to stay at the comfort of yout home and insight violence. I have zero sympathy for him. He’s very arrogant & can neva b the face of Biafra.”

Another user, @nwaEleberi, posted, “@simon_ekpa is ordained fraudster & a known terrorist! All his foolish followers must demand accountability from him! He has been busy drinking expensive champagne & living large!”

Kunle Edun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated that anyone funding terrorism is guilty of an offense. He explained, “Sections 2, 21 and 22 of the Act are clear that terrorism and financing of terrorism are prohibited in Nigeria. Any person that financially supports or makes his resources, services or facilities available to persons knowingly engaged in terrorist activities is equally liable and offense under the Terrorism Act can attract up to the maximum life imprisonment but if death occurs while committing the act, death penalty will apply. An attempt to do any of the foregoing is equally an offense under the Act. It is critical that the intent of the suspects must be proved to commit or support acts of terrorism.”

He continued, “It is in this wise, that the alleged crowdfunding organised by Simon Ekpa whereby donors were said to have made funds available to him, becomes very concerning. If it is established either by direct or circumstantial evidence that the donors were aware or ought to have been aware of the purpose of the crowdfunding and the activities of Simon Ekpa they could be charged for financing terrorism. Therefore, a thorough investigation will be required to gather these evidence, as the burden is on the Prosecution to prove the charge.”

Ayo Ademiluyi, a legal practitioner, emphasized that donations to Ekpa’s cause could be considered evidence of terrorism, as IPOB has been designated a terrorist organization.

“By virtue of the declaration of IPOB and any other secessionist groups as terrorist organisations, any funding to it constitutes evidence of that crime. So, in this case, crowdfunding is an accessory to the fact. This is because the organisation has been labelled as a terrorist organisation,” he said.

Eze Onyekpere, another legal practitioner, compared the funding of Ekpa’s cause to supporting other terrorist groups, saying, “This is just like somebody funding Boko Haram or the terrorists in the northwest.”

Additionally, Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, called on the federal government to engage in constructive dialogue with community and youth leaders in the Southeast to promote peace.

In a bid to tackle drug-related crimes, the National Assembly has amended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, introducing life imprisonment for drug offenders and traffickers.

This comes after the Senate and House of Representatives adopted the harmonised report on the amendment.

Senator Tahir Monguno, Chairman of the Senate Conference Committee, presented the report, highlighting that the amendment introduces stricter penalties to deter drug-related crimes.

“Any person who unlawfully engages in the storage, custody, movement, carriage or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and, while doing so, is armed with an offensive weapon or disguised in any manner, commits an offence under this Act and is liable, upon conviction, to life imprisonment,” Monguno said.

The Senate approved the amendment through a voice vote during Thursday’s plenary, which was presided over by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.

In addition, the Senate passed the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission Bill, 2024, aimed at replacing the 2004 RMAFC Act. Yahaya Abdullahi, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs, stressed the need for the commission’s reform, citing Nigeria’s declining revenue and increasing population.

“The Act, last revised over 20 years ago, no longer reflects Nigeria’s evolving economic realities. This bill proposes additional funding and a restructured operational framework for the commission to improve its efficiency,” Abdullahi explained.

He further emphasised the need for adequate funding from the Federation Account for the RMAFC to effectively carry out its constitutional duties.

The bill, passed after deliberations and a majority vote, now awaits President Bola Tinubu’s assent to become law.