Nigeria’s popular investigative journalist, David Hundeyin’s Twitter account, was locked after he exposed the Guinean passport of Nigeria’s President-elect Bola Tinubu.
On Monday, April 17, 2023, West Africa Weekly, a digital publication owned by Hundeyin, tweeted about the situation: “After posting evidence of @officialABAT’s undisclosed dual citizenship and perjurous INEC EC9 declaration, West Africa Weekly founder @DavidHundeyin’s Twitter account has been maliciously reported for ‘posting private information’ and is temporarily locked.”
After posting evidence of @officialABAT's undisclosed dual citizenship and perjurous INEC EC9 declaration, West Africa Weekly founder @DavidHundeyin's Twitter account has been maliciously reported for "posting private information" and is temporarily locked. pic.twitter.com/QFxcapDmMc
— West Africa Weekly (@WestAfricaWeek) April 17, 2023
Over the weekend, Hundeyin uploaded images of a Guinean diplomatic passport bearing Tinubu’s name and photograph, sparking a frenzy among Nigerian internet users.
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The Trent had independently received the same Guinean passport for Mr Bola Tinubu and reported the story.
Tinubu’s supporters responded by flooding the tweet with privacy complaints, causing Twitter’s automated system to flag the post for deletion and lock Hundeyin’s account for violating the platform’s policy regarding personal identifying information.
By reporting the tweet, the president-elect’s supporters may have inadvertently confirmed the passport’s authenticity.
Hundeyin has contacted Twitter to appeal the suspension, arguing that Tinubu’s dual citizenship is a matter of national and public interest. Still, it remains uncertain when his account will be reinstated.
As a public figure and the incoming president of Africa’s largest economy, Hundeyin believes the information he shared is of significant public importance.
In an email to Hundeyin, Twitter cited its policy against posting private information without express authorization and permission.
The revelation of Tinubu’s Guinean passport raises questions about his eligibility for the presidency, as Section 137 of the Nigerian Constitution prohibits individuals who have “voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria” from serving as president.
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Additionally, concerns about potential perjury charges related to Tinubu’s false declaration of his dual citizenship on the INEC EC-9 form have been raised.
Late last year, Hundeyin brought Mr Tinubu’s drug trafficking criminal past to the fore of conversations leading to the 2023 Presidential election through a series of investigative reports.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, was declared the winner of the keenly contested February 25 presidential poll. However, his rivals Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration at the election tribunal.
Mr Obi urged the tribunal to disqualify Mr Tinubu because of his criminal past and urged the court to review the election results, which recorded widespread doctoring. The Labour Party’s presidential candidate claims that if the original results of the poll are upheld, he won the election.
Mr Tinubu is scheduled to be sworn into office on May 29. There is, however, growing discontent over this situation, and a movement of citizens have been campaigning against his swearing-in.
