Winners have emerged in the 2020 Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards held on December 9, 2020 in Lagos.
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) annually honours journalists who use investigative stories to amplify the voice of the most vulnerable in Nigeria.
Only eight journalists received awards at the 15th edition of the awards ceremony, picked from 188 entries.
Awardees Of 2020 Wole Soyinka Centre For Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) Awards
Cartoon Category
Victor Asowata (Commended)
His cartoon: “Canada opens doors for medical professionals” published in Punch newspaper.
Photo Category
Ikechuke Ibe (Commended)
His photo: “An armed female soldier punishes a commercial bike rider at Marabara, Nasarawa” published by Daily Trust.
Online Category
Damilola Banjo (Winner)
Her work – “Justice for sale” published on Sahara Reporters.
Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo (Runner-up)
His work – “From Jonathan to Buhari, Inside Nigeria’s multibillion naira railway fraud”, published on Premium Times.
Habib Oladapo and Damilola Banjo (Commended)
Their story : “Inside private school in Lagos where A1 can be bought” published on Sahara Reporters.
Television Investigative Report
Bukola Samuel-Wemimo (Winner)
Her work – “Sexual Abuse: How police officers clog the wheels of justice” showed on TVC.
Print Category
Samson Folarin (Winner)
His work – “FHRO certificate Scandal” published by Punch.
Ibrahim Adeyemi (Runner-up)
His work – “Sokoto’s ghost teachers, corrupt school principals stealing FG’s N-Power Funds” published by Business Day
Ibrahim Adeyemi (Commended)
His work – “With just N200 bribe per immigration checkpoint, migrants are infiltrating Nigeria through Sokoto” published by Business Day.
2020 WSCIJ – Nigerian Investigative Reporter of the year
Damilola Banjo
Her work – “Justice for Sale” published on Sahara Reporters.
Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence
Lade Bonuola, a former editor of Daily Times and managing Director of The Guardian and the defunct Daily Comet.
Judges' Comment on Entries
Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, the Chair of the 2020 Judges Board, stated:
“Generally, all the entries are strong, because they drew attention to major national issues. However, some stories deserve special mention and the authors also deserve commendation for their professionalism.
Most stories had no consideration for the attention span of the readers. So, we suggest that when online journalists mine data, they should paraphrase for conciseness and precision; and interpret them without losing accuracy, logic and completeness. Also, technically, in terms of language use, there is need for improvement.”
Mrs. Ogwezzy-Ndisika further said the radio category did not measure up to standard as the entries were merely feature stories. However, she said a story that shows the levity of treating cases of missing persons is worthy of mention.
Only one television report made it to the shortlist. While many of the entries in the photo category raised issues of concern; they were weak in professional touch as many of them were not visually powerful, the judge said.
Mrs. Ogwezzy-Ndisika added that although some of the stories did not receive award, they brought to the fore important issues that deserve attention.
