The Royal Courts of Justice in the UK has found Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin guilty of libel and ordered him to pay £95,000 in damages to BBC journalist Charles Northcott.
The judgment, delivered on October 8, 2024, comes after Hundeyin made allegations against Northcott in his article “Journalism Career Graveyard,” published in 2022.
Allegations and court findings
Hundeyin accused Northcott of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with Nigerian journalist Kiki Mordi during the production of the BBC’s Sex for Grades documentary.
He claimed that Northcott used his position to obtain sexual favors from Mordi and sidelined Oge Obi, whom Hundeyin alleged was the originator of the documentary.
The court dismissed Hundeyin’s claims as baseless, noting that the video evidence he presented failed to support his allegations. Instead, the court found that Hundeyin’s conduct post-publication—including trolling and defamatory posts on social media—exacerbated the harm caused to Northcott’s reputation and caused significant distress to both Northcott and Mordi.
Damages awarded
Judge Wilson, who presided over the case, stated:
“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 also ordered the removal of the defamatory article from Hundeyin’s website.
Trolling and defiance
Despite being ordered to take down the article earlier in July, Hundeyin defied the court’s instructions. His social media posts, including tagging Mordi and daring her to sue, were cited as evidence of his intention to humiliate and distress both Northcott and Mordi.
One of Hundeyin’s 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’?…”
Hundeyin also shared a video of Mordi and Northcott in Trafalgar Square, captioning it with claims that it was evidence of their alleged misconduct.
Northcott’s statement
Northcott testified that the allegations caused severe professional and personal harm, garnering over 40 million impressions online between September 27 and October 31, 2022. He noted that Hundeyin’s influence extended to England and Wales, given his education, public engagements, and book launches in the UK.