Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, a reporter with Premium Times, one of Nigeria leading online news platform in Nigeria, has won the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Award as Investigative Reporter of the Year 2018.
Abdulaziz’s news chronicle on how Kemi Adeosun, former Nigeria Minister of Finance skipped compulsory National Youth Service Corps and obtained a fake exemption certificate, won him the award.
The reporter and other 11 journalists across news platform in Nigeria emerged finalists for the 13th edition of the WSCIJ award.
The award section featured prize, plaques and certificates presentation to winners of the categories and honorary awards were presented to individuals who have made exploits in the media world.
Abdulaziz also won the award for the online category with ‘The Kemi Adeosun expose’ published on Premium Times.
Also, Premium Times’ Kemi Busari emerged the runner-up for the piece, ‘Investigation: The appalling, risky state of Nigeria’s multi-billion Naira nuclear technology centre’. Oladeinde Olawoyin, also of Premium Times, was commended for his two-part story, ‘Investigation: Inside Nigeria’s Drivers’ License Fraud and How Officials Dupe Applicants’.
Mojeed Alabi emerged the winner of the print category for his two-part story, ‘Exposed! Nigeria’s Deputy Speaker In 1.1bn Water Contract Scam’, published in the New Telegraph on 24th and 25th May, 2018. Mojeed is a second-time winner, having won the award in 2016. He was also the runner-up for the category in 2017. The piece, ‘FG’s school feeding programme: The truths, half-truths and outright lies, saw Chinwe Agbeze of BusinessDay emerge the runner-up in the category. Chinwe was commended in the same category in 2017
For the photo category, Kolawole Aliu, a 2017 runner-up, won for his photo, ‘The Menace of Lagos State Task Force on People’, published in the Leadership Newspaper. As there was no runner-up for the category, Elliot Ovadje of The Nigerian Tribune was commended for his work, ‘Slums around us’, published in Saturday Tribune.
In the television category, Sharon Ijasan of Television Continental clinched the first prize for her story ‘Funding basic education in Nigeria’. Azeezat Olaoluwa, also of Television Continental, was runner-up with her story, ‘Failing health sector: Pregnant women seek cheaper alternative’. The television category had no commended work.
Chinelo Ozoalor of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Enugu, was the only journalist recognised for the radio category. She won the category for her report, ‘NECO Paper Leak Enugu’.
The winners, runners-up and commended works got cash prizes of N200,000, N100,000 and N50,000 respectively, plus a certificate of commendation. In addition, winners got award plaques, and will proceed on an all-expense-paid international study tour in 2019.
John Momoh and Waziri Adio received honorary awards from the centre.
Momoh received the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence for his over two-decade commitment to media excellence as evidenced by the success of Channels TV while Waziri Adio was conferred with the Anti-Corruption Defender Award for his consistent public stance against corruption, evidenced by the work he is championing on transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
While giving his remarks, founder WSCIJ, Dapo Olorunyomi, observed that in the history of journalism, there was never a time when journalism was under more attacks than it is today.
He also canvassed for funding support and media ownership of the programme to ensure its sustainability
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