{"id":1304,"date":"2026-01-13T08:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1304"},"modified":"2026-01-21T06:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T06:27:10","slug":"philip-obaji","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1304","title":{"rendered":"Philip Obaji"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:23% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1301 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_3109-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><br>In the last seven years, <strong>Philip Obaji<\/strong> has documented up to 100 human rights abuses and exploitation by Russian paramilitaries deployed in West and Central Africa. He has investigated and reported gut-wrenching massacres, rape, torture and oppression of vulnerable villagers by mercenaries from the Wagner Group and its successor, the Africa Corps, in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in Mali, despite threats in an incredibly risky context including being held hostage by CAR rebels and detained by CAR soldiers who tortured him on the orders of Russian paramilitaries. Obaji, whose investigative work has been published by some of the world\u2019s most authoritative media outlets, has also spent the last decade uncovering trafficking of refugees in West and Central Africa and rightly portraying it as an overlooked consequence of war.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the last seven years, Philip Obaji has documented up to 100 human rights abuses and exploitation by Russian paramilitaries deployed in West and Central Africa. He has investigated and reported gut-wrenching massacres, rape, torture and oppression of vulnerable villagers by mercenaries from the Wagner Group and its successor, the Africa Corps, in the Central [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1273,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1304","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Philip Obaji - Democratic Security Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/demsecinstitute.org\/?page_id=1304\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philip Obaji - Democratic Security Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the last seven years, Philip Obaji has documented up to 100 human rights abuses and exploitation by Russian paramilitaries deployed in West and Central Africa. 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