Five PREMIUM TIMES journalists, 9 others are finalists for Soyinka Investigative reporting awards

The board of judges for the 2013 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting, led by Prof Lai Oso, Dean, Lagos State University’s School of Communication has named 14 finalists for this year’s award. They are: Elijah Olusegun of National Standard Magazine; Ayoola Kassim of Channels Television; Adeyemi Adesomoju of The Punch Newspaper; and Toyosi Ogunseye of The Punch Newspaper.

Others are Ini Ekott of PREMIUM TIMES; Asukwo Bassey of BusinessDay Newspaper; Tobore Ovuorie of PREMIUM TIMES; Temiloluwa Bamgbose of Flair Nigeria; Ruona Agbroko-Meyer of PREMIUM TIMES; Stanley Ogidi of The Punch; Aderonke Ogunleye of PREMIUM TIMES; Temitayo Famutimi of The Punch; Bassey Udo of PREMIUM TIMES and Ese Grage of Flair Nigeria.

The two honorary awards; the Lifetime award for journalistic excellence and the Anti-corruption defender award will be presented to Ms. Amma Ogan, first female editor at the Guardian and Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, Chair of the National Human Rights Commission, respectively.

Amma Ogan is being honoured with the Lifetime award for journalistic excellence for her invaluable contribution to media excellence in Nigeria while the Anti-corruption defender award is being awarded Chidi Odinkalu for his integrity, hard work, unconcealed crusade for the enthronement of human rights and his dogged stance against corruption.

Winners, runners-up and commended works will be announced at a public award presentation ceremony scheduled for Monday 9 December 2013 at the NECA main hall, opposite Afrika shrine, Agidingbi, Ikeja Lagos at 5pm.

Professor Wole Soyinka, WSCIJ’s Grand Patron; Dr. Andrew Pocock, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria; Rt Hon Rotimi Ameachi, Rivers State Governor; Prof Ropo Sekoni, WSCIJ Board Chair are some of the guests expected at the event which is supported with funding from the Rivers State Government and the British High Commission.

Admittance to the event is open to members of the public.

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ABOUT THE AWARD

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 and has so far rewarded 59 finalists.

ABOUT THE ENTRY CODING SYSTEM

In 2012, the Centre introduced an entry coding system, which attempts to make the details of media house and reporter’s by-line anonymous to judges to further strengthen the judging process and perhaps increase the credibility of the award programme. Now, each entry bears a code in the place of media house and entrant’s details along with the story title.

ABOUT THE CENTRE

The WOLE SOYINKA CENTRE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (WSCIJ) is a non-governmental organisation with a vision to stimulate the emergence of a socially just community defined by the ethics of inclusion, transparency and accountability through support to journalists. Initially known as the Wole Soyinka Investigative Reporting Award (WSIRA), the change in name became necessary in 2008 to reflect the intentions of the coordinators to embrace a more robust line of activities that have greater capacity for engendering the right values of investigative journalism in the Nigerian media. The Centre is named after Professor Wole Soyinka in recognition of his life-long work in support of the freedom of expression, freedom to hold opinion, and freedom to impart them without fear or favour and without hindrance or interference.

Signed:

Motunrayo Alaka

Centre Coordinator

motunrayo@wscij.org, wscij@wscij.org