Editor and Investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo is one of the three finalists for the One World Media Award’s International Journalist of the Year 2020.
The others on the three-man shortlist are Sky News’ Alex Crawford and BBC News’ John Sudworth.
The shortlist was selected from the longlist of eleven finalists including journalists from Independent, Al Jazeera English, Vice News, BBC Arabic and Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Soyombo who writes for TheCable was pioneer editor of the online newspaper, former Editor of International Centre for Investigative Reporting, Abuja and Shahara Reporters.
His nomination for the award is based on his undercover investigation on Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
In a three-part series published in TheCable in October last year, which the federal government promised to act on, Soyombo highlighted the rot in the system involving the police, courts and prisons.
Soyombo also exposed the corruption and decrepit state of the country’s oldest psychiatric hospital, Yaba Nero-Psychiatric Hospital in another major investigative report published in January this year.
His nomination has attracted congratulatory messages from colleagues worldwide wishing him being named as the winner.
Guillermo Galdos the Latin America Correspondent for Channel 4 News, based in Peru was the winner of the Award in 2019.
“We found Guillermo’s work riveting, visually stunning and emotionally engaging. His topics might have been reported on before, but his approach is strikingly original. Whilst his work is accessible to global audiences, he also sets these individual human stories into a wider social and political context, giving them greater depth and meaning,” the judges stated in their verdict.
The International Journalist of the Year is one of the fifteen categories of the One World Media Award for which winners will be announced on June 18.
Stacey Dooley of BBC Three is also one of the finalists for the Popular Features Award with a report on Nigeria’s Female Suicide Bombers.
The One World Media Awards launched in 1988 according to the organisers is to celebrate underreported stories that break down stereotypes, change the narrative and connect people from different cultures.
“To make the final selection of this year’s nominees, 60+ of the industry’s most distinguished journalists, filmmakers and media professionals gathered from every corner of the world for an online Jury Day we will never forget.
“From hundreds of entries, from over 60 countries, we are thrilled to now announce the final three nominees, across all 15 awards categories! The work highlighted below represents the very best of the industry’s media coverage of developing countries,” the organisers explained in an announcement on it website.
