A United Kingdom court has convicted a 66-year-old former Sunderland councillor, Glenn Gibbins, for making what it described as “grossly offensive” comments about Nigerians living in the city.
According to a report by UK-based news outlet, Chronicle Live, published on Monday, Gibbins was found guilty following a three-hour trial at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
District Judge Zoe Passfield sentenced him to a 12-month community order, including 150 hours of unpaid work.
The former Reform UK councillor, who was elected in May, admitted that his comments were offensive but denied that they amounted to grossly offensive conduct.
The case arose from a Facebook post he published in March 2024, in which he wrote: “Can’t believe the amount of Nigerians in town… should melt them all down and fill in the potholes!!”
Gibbins reportedly described the statement as a “tongue-in-cheek” joke, insisting that it was not intended to be taken literally.
He told the court that he had interacted with some Nigerians who approached his printing equipment stall at the Bridges shopping centre to discuss a possible purchase. He described their exchange as friendly banter.
According to his testimony, he later saw a Facebook post about Nigerians after drinking a couple of cans of beer. When he could not share the original post, he typed his own version and published it on his public profile.
He maintained that he considered the remark naughty and humorous, insisting that he had no intention of threatening or encouraging violence against anyone.
However, prosecuting counsel Emma Dowling argued that the statement was deeply offensive and dehumanising.
She told the court that the suggestion of melting Nigerians down portrayed members of the community as less than human and conjured up disturbing images.
The prosecution further argued that the post was published to offend and humiliate Nigerians living in Sunderland.
A Nigerian community leader, Godwin Ejeh, also testified during the trial. He said he organised a protest outside Sunderland City Hall on the day Gibbins was expected to be sworn in as a councillor, hoping that he would apologise.
Ejeh, who contested the May council election under the Liberal Democrats, rejected suggestions that he was exploiting the controversy for political purposes.
“We are talking about humanity here; it’s way beyond politics,” he told the court.
Gibbins had already been suspended by Reform UK after the post resurfaced. The post was reportedly brought to the attention of authorities after the organisation Hope Not Hate reviewed his social media activity when he was announced as a party candidate.
Defence counsel Adam King described the Facebook post as an unpleasant and unfunny joke, arguing that controversial humour should not automatically attract criminal prosecution.
However, the court concluded that Gibbins’ remarks crossed the legal threshold of grossly offensive expression.
Reacting to the conviction, Christopher Atkinson of the Crown Prosecution Service in the North East said racially charged and grossly offensive comments could cross the boundary between freedom of expression and criminal conduct.
He warned social media users that publishing such material could result in prosecution, particularly where the content dehumanises or humiliates members of an affected community.
The conviction has drawn attention to the responsibilities accompanying public expression, particularly on social media, and the legal consequences of comments targeting ethnic and national communities.
