Associate Editor and Head of Investigation Desk of The Nation Newspaper, Adekunle Yusuf has emerged the Investigative Journalist of the year at the 12th edition of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.
Former Minister of Education, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda, Edetaen Ojo and nine other outstanding journalists were honoured at the event held on December 8, 2017.
Yusuf emerged the winner of the print category and the overall award for his story – Exposed: How corruption, favouritism thrive in University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) which uncovered over four years of hidden corruption cases in the university.
Adekunle is a second time winner, as he won the award in 2015
Mojeed Alabi of New Telegraph emerged as the first runner-up with the piece, Nyanya blasts: victims’ agonies live on, while Chinwe Agbeze of Businessday was commended for her story, Cheese Balls Company where slavery goes on.
Soyombo Olufisayo, a third time winner of the award, with a story published on The Cable, Undercover: in Borno, children are dying at IDP camps, foodstuffs are ‘disappearing’ at SEMA store, won the online category.
Premium Times’ Kemi Busari emerged the runner-up for the piece, Investigation: corruption, extortion reign at Nigeria Immigration passport office, while Ebere Ndukwu of Ripples Nigeria, was commended for his work, Investigation: Aregbesola and the scam called Opon-Imo.
For the photo category, Ayodele Ojo, a 2016 runner-up, won for his photo, Law of jackboot published in Daily Sun Newspaper.
In the photo, a Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) was being molested by hoodlums for trying to arrest a traffic offender.
A picture published in Leadership Newspaper won Kolawole Aliu the runner-up position, while Ayodele Adeniran of The Guardian Newspaper was commended for his entry, Tragedy as another three-storey building collapses in Lagos.
Local rice: the bitter, sweet side of an economy driven by women by Ujorha Tadaferua of Daily Trust Newspaper won the newly introduced Special prize for Agriculture and Food Security.
The winners got cash prizes of N200,000, award plaque, two terra-byte hard drives, certificate of commendation and will proceed on an international study tour in 2018.
No awards were awarded for editorial cartoon, television and radio based of the poor quality of entries.
For the honorary awards, Ojo, received the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence for his leadership of issues that enshrine freedom of expression, including his significant contribution towards the passage and implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria.
In his acceptance remark, Ojo said he felt honoured to receive the award by his peers who have been involved in the struggle for freedom of information with him. He is the eleventh recipient of the award.
Ezekwesili, fondly referred to as “Madam Due Process” was conferred with the Anti-Corruption Defender Award as the ninth recipient of the award.
Accepting the award, she said journalists are in a noble profession that is explicitly enshrined in the constitution. She enjoined everyone to assume the office of the citizen and hold government accountable so that officers in elective positions would have no excuse but perform.
In his remark, Wole Soyinka congratulated the winners, adding that the Nigerian media is considered one of the foremost and most interesting all over the world.
While also applauding the award recipients, Professor Lai Oso, the Chair, 2017 Judges Board, observed that going by the entries, much needs be done in the continuous education of journalists. He affirmed that mere feature stories are not necessarily synonymous to investigative stories.
In her statement on the brutality of citizens by state security agents in commemoration of the world anti-corruption and human right days, Motunrayo Alaka, the Coordinator of the WSCIJ, noted that the centre has since inception supported investigations on the brutality of armed security agents on Nigerians.
She reeled out investigative stories ranging from extra-judicial killings, to torture of Nigerians, done by some of the centre’s Soyinka Laureates. She called on the government to end to the ‘rain of terror’ on citizens by those with the constitutional mandate of protecting them.
In his opening remarks, Professor Ropo Sekoni, Board Chair WSCIJ, emphasised, among other things, that the unfortunate return of slave trade, evidenced by the recent occurrence in Libya, requires thorough investigation of the Nigerian side of the faces behind human trafficking.
Africa cannot afford a third slave trade, he said.
Held first in October 2005, to develop investigative tradition among journalists, the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting has produced 83 finalists, 41 Soyinka laureates, 28 runner-ups, 16 commended works and 18 honorary awards so far.
