News Director, TVC News, Stella Din-Jacob and founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi have been named for honorary awards by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
They will be decorated with the awards ahead of the 17th edition of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) which will hold as a part of the two-day 2022 AmplifyIn-depth Media (AIM) Conference and Awards on Thursday 8th and Friday 9th December 2022, at NECA House, Hakeem Balogun Street, off Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja Lagos and online.
Din-Jacob, a seasoned journalist, news manager, and lawyer with a career spanning about three decades will be honoured with the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence for her lifelong contribution to journalism and good governance in Nigeria, while Akiyode-Afolabi, a Nigerian lawyer and civil rights advocate will be conferred with the Human Rights Defender Award to recognise her contribution to rule-of-law and the rights of girls and women as human rights.
Executive Director of the WSCIJ, Mrs Motunrayo Alaka in a statement said a Professor of Mass Communication at the Lagos State University School of Communication, Lai Oso will deliver the keynote address to open the conference.
Speakers at the conference include Anas Aremeyaw Anas, undercover reporter/founder, Tiger Eye Foundation, Ghana; Tobore Ovuorie, freelance investigative journalist; Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism; Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Professor, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos; Lanre Arogundade, executive director of International Press Centre (IPC); Kemi Busari, Editor, Dubawa and Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director- Enough is Enough.
Others are Haruna Mohammed, publisher- WikkiTimes; Ibiba Don-Pedro, co-publisher of National Point; Anita Eboigbe, Editor-in-Chief, Citizen, by Zikoko, Dara Ajala, Program Manager, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF); Adedeji Adekunle, Program Director, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), and Motunrayo Alaka, Idris Akinbajo, Managing Editor, Premium Times; Vivian Chime of TheCable; Jimeh Saleh, Editor, BBC, Abdulkareem Mojeed of Premium Times Nigeria and Tijesu Adeoye, Reporter, TVC News.
Alaka explained that the multi-panel conference will provide an opportunity to reflect on the-state-of democracy, the media profession and the practice of investigative journalism.
The initiative is a collaborative effort of 18 organisations of the Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort of the MacArthur Foundation On Nigeria project. The plenary sessions are open to all.
