PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Mr. Akinlabi Ademola A.
   Mr. Ademola Akinlabi, a photojournalist with Tell Magazine, won the photo prize of the 2008 edition of the award. His photo entry captioned Minimum Force captures a scene of police harassment against an ordinary Nigerian.

   The victim of the harassment was accused of dangerous driving against the convoy of state government officials in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. As an experienced professional and fearless photojournalist, he relied on his skills in photography to take a snap of the harassment scene, which depicts how human rights are violated daily in Nigeria by the police and other security agencies.

   The capacity of the picture to tell the story and successfully capturing the event, the interpretative quality, the use of a caption that metaphorically depicted a scene of abuse, and his demonstration of courage justified the level of professional ability of Mr. Akinlabi and how photojournalism could be used as a tool for promoting human rights.

   Born on March 14, 1964, Mr. Akinlabi Ademola attended the Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State, bagging an Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication in 1988. He has also participated in other professional trainings.

   
   
   

BROADCAST

1. Mr. Deji Badmus - Winner (TV)
   Mr. Deji Badmus, a consummate and versatile journalist, emerged the winner in the Television Broadcast Category, as well as the overall winner of the 2008 edition, based on his story In the name of the Police. Relying on tips from allegations of fraud at the Police Equipment Fund (PEF), Mr. Badmus successfully carried out an investigation which lasted for three months and produced staggering revelations concerning the fraud at PEF.  

   Sometimes in 2004, three men came together to raise fund through voluntary public donation to equip the Nigerian Police. Their target was to raise One Hundred Million naira (N100 Million) and they agreed to share ten percent of what money they raised to cover their cost. But somewhere along the line, one of them died and the fund eventually got jerked up to One Hundred Billon (N100 Billion). A committee known as the Presidential Committee on Police Equipment Fund was subsequently set up by the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo to drive the process. That committee would later be hijacked by some individuals with close ties to the president and the result of this is the perpetration of monumental fraud.

   In his attempt to get to the root of the matter, Mr. Badmus travelled to several states across the country, searching for the necessary documents and getting interviews with those directly involved. Despite the highly sensitive nature of the matter and the difficulty involved in getting access to the right documents and making contact with those who could speak on the matter, he braved all odds and remained undaunted in his attempt to get the facts.

   Having gathered vital information from the sources involved and from all available documents, he did a wonderful story which was aired to the public. The story burst the bubbles and opened the can of warms to Nigerians. Mr. Badmus had demonstrated in the story a good understanding of the issues. His knack to follow-up on issues became evidently clear while he also demonstrated unusual courage in reporting. In his effort to gather all necessary facts needed to do the story, he demonstrated unusual fearlessness going to different places digging the ground for information. He shunned advice by some people that he should stop action on the story, considering the sensitive nature of the issue and the risks involved in exposing the fraud to the public. Mr. Deji Badmus’ effort in investigative reporting broke the fraud story at the Police Equipment Fund which is now in the public domain.

   With his emergence as the winner in the broadcast category and the overall winner in the 2008 edition, Mr. Deji Badmus has once again demonstrated his professional capability and skills in investigative journalism, having won a number of awards in the area, including the maiden edition of the Wole Soyinka Investigative Reporting Award where he emerged the winner of the first prize in the broadcast category. His unusual courage, strong commitment and perseverance are some of the virtues that stand him out among contemporaries.

   Born on March 15, 1977, Mr. Deji Badmus, the Head, Political Desk at Channels Television, is a 1997 graduate of Mass Communication from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

2. Mr. Solomon Adebayo - Winner (Radio)
   Mr. Solomon Adebayo, an Environment Editor and Investigative Reporter with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, became the winner of the Radio prize in the broadcast category in the 2008 edition. His story, AEPB/Hawkers, is a three part reports on the activities of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board’s task force on environmental sanitation. The reports exposed the extortions, indiscriminate arrests, and illegal detention of people abducted on the streets of Abuja in sub human condition. He embarked on an investigation into the allegations of abuse against the task force, leading to the discovery of illegal detention cells and scores of people that were illegally detained. Public reactions followed the reports while the Federal Capital Territory Administration quickly waded into action. The board hurriedly closed the cells and released the detainees.

   The entry is worth mentioning in regards to its qualities in terms of issues, actuality, sustained follow-up, demonstrated effort in data gathering, risk in execution, and focus on good governance. Mr. Solomon Adebayo has entered his name in the hall of fame among Nigerian journalists who have continued to use the profession for the promotion of human rights.

   Born on August 30, 1971, Mr. Adebayo Solomon is a 1995 graduate of English at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
   
   

PRINT CATEGORY

1. Mr. Funsho Muraina
   Mr. Funsho Muraina is the Judicial Editor with Thisday newspaper. His story entitled the
   Serialized Stories on Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello won him the best price in the print category at the 2008 edition. For six months, Mr. Funsho Muraina was in the field gathering facts and figures to do a story on what has remained one of the biggest fraud scandals in the country in years, the Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and M. Schneider of Austria contract scam.

   His curiousity to get to the root of the scandal led him to embark on information digging and series of interviews with the parties to the matter, including Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello. At the end of information gathering, Mr. Funsho Muraina found out how some people have colluded to cause further damage to the country psyche, siphoning money that was meant to rehabilitate a hailing health sector. The fearless journalist got sufficient documents and went ahead to prosecute the stories. He sustained the tempo, coming out with more and more facts which rattled the public.

   In his execution of the story he continued to bring up new issues in each edition, while applying active reporting style. He followed-up each story with a new one and brought interest and life into them. He demonstrated articulacy and consistency, securing frontpage placement for all the stories.

   Born on July 24, 1961, Mr. Funso Muraina attended the University of Ibadan, University of Ado Ekiti, and the University of Lagos. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

   
   
   

[ Back to Top ]