The Ghanaian government responded to allegations made by Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.
Hundeyin claimed that the Nigerian government was exerting pressure on Ghanaian authorities to have him extradited to Nigeria.
Mr. Hundeyin, currently residing in Ghana, sought refuge in this West African nation in the face of alleged “political persecution” by the Nigerian government, against which he had been an outspoken critic.
In 2020, this journalist made the difficult decision to flee Nigeria. His application for refugee status, submitted in 2021, received confirmation from the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) on May 13, 2022. The GRB officially recognized him as a refugee in accordance with the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) and other relevant international protocols.
On September 20, 2023, Mr. Hundeyin released a video on his social media platform, previously known as Twitter and now referred to as “X handle.” In the video, he made serious claims that the Nigerian government was actively pressuring the Ghanaian authorities to revoke his refugee status and return him to Nigeria.
This 16-minute clip was notable for the journalist’s accusations against President Bola Tinubu. Mr. Hundeyin accused the President of orchestrating a “secret extradition” plot against him. This plot was allegedly in retaliation for his disclosure of confidential information about the President’s personal life and for exposing ECOWAS’s plan to intervene in the Republic of Niger following a military coup in that nation.
He also claimed Mr Tinubu, who currently heads ECOWAS, was seeking to get him extradited to Nigeria because he (Hundeyin) reported that the Nigerian president allegedly forged his academic certificate and engaged in drug trafficking in the US.
“So, I want to urge the Ghanaian president to resist the temptation to allow the Nigerian president to push Ghana into breaking international law,” Mr Hundeyin said.
“I obviously don’t need to mention that there is a law called the Law of Refoulement which forbids the illegal repatriation of political refugees back to the country that they fled from, where they are going to face persecution,” he added.
But reacting in a letter dated 1 October 2023, the Chairperson of the GRB, Kenneth Attafuah, told Mr Hundeyin that it was not true that the board or the Ghanaian government was contacted by the Nigerian government extradite him.
Mr Attafuah, a professor and lawyer, said the board decided to reach the journalist after considering his allegations in the video clip during an emergency meeting of the board members on 29 September.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it is not within the contemplation of the GRB to repatriate you to Nigeria. There is absolutely no need or reason for that; your fear of being refouled lacks supporting verification, and is not well-founded.
“The unproven allegations and apparently defamatory statements you make in your video against the sitting president of Nigeria from Ghanaian soil have strong political ramifications and national security potential implications and could engender needless diplomatic row between our two sister countries. You are respectfully urged to desist from such conduct even as you freely practice your trade as a professional journalist,” he said.
The GRB chairperson told the journalist that although the board has no intention of withdrawing or cancelling his refugee status, he must obey and respect the laws of Ghana and observe the provisions of Rights and Obligations of Asylum Seekers.
“The GRB is completely unaware of any of the astonishing allegations of criminality you attribute to the President of Nigeria and the Nigerian Government or any of its security agencies.
“As a creature of statute, the GRB acts within the four corners of its statutory mandate, and in accordance with applicable international law, as a result, it is unable to assume responsibilities falling outside the scope of its statutory mandate or meet some of your grand expectations of it,” he stated.
