The 19th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) will take place on Monday, December 9, 2024, at the AGIP Recital Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
The event will honour two distinguished individuals, Chinyere Okunna and the late Beko Ransom-Kuti, for their contributions to journalism and human rights.
Chinyere Okunna, a Professor of Mass Communications and the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Paul University, Awka, Anambra State, will receive the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence.
Okunna is being celebrated for her years of consistent commitment to the growth of the Nigerian media, her contributions to journalism for development, and her stellar role in supporting women’s development in media and society.
The late Beko Ransom-Kuti will be honoured posthumously with the Human Rights Defender Award. Ransom-Kuti was a renowned civil rights and pro-democracy activist who defended the rights of the poor to good health.
He founded and led groups like the Campaign for Democracy, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, and the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO).
The award ceremony will also recognize outstanding investigative journalists who have exposed regulatory failures, corruption in the public and corporate spheres, and human rights abuses in Nigeria.
15 finalists were shortlisted from the 219 entries received from journalists across Nigeria. Winners will receive cash prizes, plaques, and an all-expense-paid international study tour in 2025.
The 2024 AIM Conference and Awards programme will commence on Sunday, December 8, and Monday, December 9, 2024, by 1 pm daily on Zoom as a two-day virtual conversation with the theme ‘Media credibility, investigative reporting, and artificial intelligence’.
Tolu Ogunlesi, Managing Partner at WoweMedia and former Special Assistant to the erstwhile Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, on Digital/New Media, will be the keynote speaker.
The events are part of the ‘Leveraging the power of the media to fortify the civic space and tackle misinformation’ programme in collaboration with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and funding support from the Netherlands Embassy. Attendance is open to members of the public.
Since 2009, the annual award has been held on International Anti-Corruption Day and the eve of Human Rights Day to highlight their significance to the themes of investigative reporting and democracy.
Over the years, WSAIR has celebrated 119 finalists, honoured 13 Investigative Journalists of the Year, and gave 29 Nigerians Honorary Awards for their contributions to the media profession and stance against corruption.
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