Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, on Wednesday, told the United Nations Human Rights Council that President Bola Tinubu-led government has been taking steps to abduct him from his country of residence, Ghana.
In a video address to the UN body, Hundeyin accused the Tinubu administration of planning to kill him if he is eventually abducted. He said, “Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council. “As an investigative journalist from Nigeria, my work primarily focuses on advancing transparency and accountability in government. I have repeatedly used my journalistic platform to expose and publicize malfeasance and criminal behaviour by powerful people in Nigeria, most recently the new Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, an individual whose FBI file of over 2,500 pages is set to be released publicly for the first time next month and who has as a matter of public record forfeited $460,000 to the United States government being proceeds of heroin trafficking.
“Due to my journalistic work, his regime has taken extraordinary steps to silence me including a recent attempted abduction from Ghana where I have political asylum. The terrible regime is currently trying to prevail on Ghana which historically is a close ally of Nigeria to violate the non-reforming principle and have me return to Nigeria where I would almost certainly face imprisonment, torture, and extrajudicial execution.”
Hundeyin added that the situation has made him unsettled as he is forced to always be on the lookout for his safety. “To save my life and the important work that I do. I have been forced into a semi-nomadic lifestyle where I am really sleeping in one place for a prolonged period. In fact, it is from one of these temporary locations that I’m filming this message.
“Under Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and as a journalist, I must be able to do my work without living in fear or living on the run simply because I’m doing my job.”
Hundeyin had earlier raised the alarm on the X platform, saying Tinubu should be held responsible if anything happened to him.
David Hundeyin is recognized as one of Nigeria’s foremost investigative journalists. Through his online West Africa Weekly, the journalist has investigated and exposed many high-level cases of official corruption including the ongoing case of alleged certificate forgery against the Nigerian president. He led Nigeria to Ghana in 2020 shortly after investigating killings during the #Endsars protest. He was granted asylum and refugee status in Ghana.
