2013 Soyinka Investigative award winners emerge

By Kelechi Amakoh

In a bid to promote investigative journalism in the country, journalists were rewarded at the 2013 Wole Soyinka Investigative Reporting Awards, WSIRA which held in Lagos December 9.

Two journalists, Ini Ekott and Ruona Agbroko-Meyer of PREMIUM TIMES emerged joint Investigative Journalists of the Year 2013 with their entry: How Nigeria Squanders Millions on Generators its Foreign Missions don’t Need on the night.

WSIRA is an initiative of The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Their winning entry detailed how the nation wastes tax payer’s money budgeting for generators in embassies located in nations with uninterrupted power supply.

The entry which also earned them the Online Category Prize revealed ‘the waste in budgeting for and releasing funds for the procurement and servicing of non-existent generators, in Nigeria’s embassies in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom where generators are needless.’

In the Sports Category, Aderonke Ogunleye of PREMIUM TIMES won with her entry: “How Nigeria’s Sports Commission Officials enriched self, cheated paralympians”. Her entry was a ‘two-part investigation into the stench at the National Sports Commission (NSC), an institution where corruption appears to rise in direct proportion to media exposure.’

Cartoon Editor of Business Day, Asuquo Etim-Bassey’s ‘Nigeria’s Misapplied Talents’ won the Editorial Cartoon category.

According to the award panel, the cartoon “makes a sad commentary on the myriad of woes besetting the country; from corruption, to insecurity, to regulatory failures and institutional dysfunctions.

He depicts sharply how Nigeria is taking the lead position in the blatant disregard for due process, law, and order. The narrative of his work can be summarised in the sense that leaders act with impunity, elevating corruption to state craft, while the police is absent in calls to duty, and religious extremists maim and kill in the name of God.”

Temitayo Famutimi of The Punch won the Print category with a story of how a school principal conducted virginity tests on pupils without their parents’ consent.

Stanley Ogidi of Punch newspaper  for his work, Two Bridges, One City won the Photo Category while Bassey Udoh and Ini Ekott won the Local Government Category with the story: “How officials steal houses, lands from Abuja indigenes in huge resettlement fraud”

Toyosi Ogunseye of The Punch won the Health Category with the story ‘The Rich Also Cry: Killer Metals in the Blood”. The three- part story led to the sealing off of the company involved.

Also commended for their work were: Adeyemio Adesomoju of The Punch’s ‘Court where alleged offenders are rushed to jail’, Emmanuel Ogala of PREMIUM TIMES’s ‘Nigerian government has awarded a $40 Million contract to an Israeli company’ and Ayoola Kassim of Channels Television with his expose on Ikeja Police College.

The Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting was first held in October 2005 to encourage the development of an investigative tradition in the Nigerian media through rigorous scrutiny of human rights violations, regulatory failures and corruption in the public and corporate sectors of the nation’s life. It has so far rewarded 65 finalists out of which there are 36 ‘Soyinka Laureates’ and 29 runners-up. It has also honoured 4 investigative journalists of the year and 12 honorary awards recipients.

Awards at a glance

CATEGORY                         WINNER

PHOTO                                STANLEY OGIDI

CARTOON                          ASUKWO ETIM BASSEY

SPORTS                               ADERONKE OGUNLEYE

HEALTH                              TOYOSI OGUNSEYE

ONLINE                               RUONA AGBROKO-MEYER & INI EKOTT

PRINT                                 TEMITAYO FAMUTIMI

LOCAL GOVERNMENT     BASSEY UDOH & INI EKOTT