David Hundeyin, an award-winning journalist, has announced that he is quitting active journalism practice to pursue a career in mentorship and has decided to leave Nigeria following repeated threats he has received. He made the disclosures in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, host and director of WithChude, a talk show and podcast featuring Africa’s celebrities and leaders.
Hundeyin attributed his decision to abandon his career and flee the country to a series of threats, including from close relatives, due to his investigative reporting. During the interview, he addressed the controversies surrounding his reporting on FEMCO. He stated, “The issue is not how it was perceived. The issue is, are these things true or not? I have provided much evidence suggesting that it is true. She has provided none to the contrary.”
He expressed frustration over how often truths are overshadowed by public opinion and cliques. He said, “One of my least favorite things about Nigeria is the fact that it almost seems as if facts don’t really matter. So, if I say that two plus two is four, and you say that two plus two is five, the objective fact of two plus two being four doesn’t matter anymore. All you have to do is shout back and have enough people in your corner. It becomes like a clique thing: who is backing you up? Who is supporting you? So, if you have enough people who have decided that they are backing you up no matter what, then it’s like, no matter how incorrect, how wrong, or how dishonest your position is, they just get to shout and point fingers back.”
When asked about his departure from Nigeria, Hundeyin clarified that he was not merely avoiding the country but was exiled. He said: “I was exiled from the country; I do not have a Nigerian passport anymore. Starting from 2019 when I set off and became this ‘thing’, I had already started getting threats and from very close to home as well. It was August 2019, and there was Sallah celebration and there used to be this family tradition that everyone will travel home to Badagry to celebrate together whenever there’s a major celebration. I had not spoken to this family member since my dad died, I hadn’t seen him in years and this man came with his full official escort to look for me specifically. He said, ‘Have you seen the DSS headquarters in Abuja? Do you know that it has seven underground stories of prisons. With this your glasses you are not going to see anything inside there.’ He said it with a sort of smile on his face, but it was a threat.”
He also shared how the Lekki Massacre made him realize that he needed to start making plans to leave, while the final trigger was threats following his reporting on the MTN story.