Published 11th Dec, 2023

By Damilola Ayeni

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has ended its two-day Amplify In-Depth Media Conference with an annual award ceremony.

The conference, which featured around 40 speakers from the media and academia, culminated in the centre’s prestigious annual investigative journalism award on Saturday evening.

This year, the centre received over 200 entries, which were initially pruned to 99 based on laid-down rules, according to Professor Abigail Ogwezzy, a lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and chair of the panel of judges. Following further scrutiny, 11 finalists emerged across digital, print, television and photo categories.

Kemi Busari of Dubawa, Lami Sadiq of Daily Trust and Sharon Ijasan, a TVC News correspondent, emerged as category winners and each went home with a N300,000 cash prize, among other benefits.

Prof. Abigail had commended journalists at the start of the event for showing passion in the face of threats and resistance from different angles. Also speaking at the event was Prof. Ropo Sekoni, the outgoing chair of WSCIJ, who said the organisation had reached the age of maturity at 18 and would vote if it were a human.

In her closing remark, Motunrayo Alaka, the CEO of WSCIJ, encouraged journalists to do more to promote accountability in Nigeria.

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