January
Strategy and sustainability meeting for CMEDIA partners
The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) held a strategy meeting on January 19, 2024 which brought together all 26 partners of the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project to chart a path forward on strengthening collaborations, inclusion of marginalised voices, impactful stories amplification, and ensuring partners sustainability beyond the MacArthur Foundation’s support. This curtain-raiser set the tone for a transformative year ahead, driven by purpose and inclusivity.
Training for students of journalism
WSCIJ held a two-day training on local reporting for select students of journalism from Lagos State University, University of Lagos, Yaba College of Technology and Nigerian Institute of Journalism at the Yaba College of Technology.
CMEDIA Partner activities
Africa Foundation for Young Media Professionals (AFYMP) hosted a Campus Journalism Safety Workshop for the Association of Campus Journalists (OAU ACJ) at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The training, aimed at early-career journalists, emphasised the critical importance of prioritising safety in the field, stressing that no story is worth a journalist’s life.
February
World Radio Day celebration
WSCIJ marked the 2024 World Radio Day gathered with radio journalists, owners and stakeholders from academia, civil society and others to discuss synergising investigative reporting and radio. This virtual event was also the first of many weekly WSCIJ’s Journalism & Society Conversations.
Public presentation of ‘Who leads the newsroom and news’
The public presentation of ‘Who leads the newsroom and news?‘ report on parity between men and women in the leadership of the newsrooms and news in Nigeria under the Report Women! programme of WSCIJ on Thursday 15 February 2024 was again an opportunity for a call for deliberate efforts by media leaders to address the gender imbalance in the news and newsrooms.
CMEDIA Partner activities
Under the CMEDIA project, Foundation for Investigative Journalism’s story ‘Undercover as a smuggler’ was published. The investigation followed repeated complaints about the porosity of Nigeria’s borders. Investigative journalist, ‘Fisayo Soyombo went undercover and imported 100 bags of rice from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria without the faintest security resistance from officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
WSCIJ statement on 2024 World Day of Social Justice
We also joined the global community to mark the 2024 World Day of Social Justice. Beyond the annual International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrated on March 8, the importance of intentionally addressing the disparities between men and women and stamping out all forms of gender-based violence was the focus of our message for the 2024 edition.
We announced project support opportunities for Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme Fellowship (FRLP) Fellows interested in conducting investigative stories on issues affecting women and girls or organising training for female reporters on gender mainstreaming. It was under the Champion Building component of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
March
We took the House-to-House initiative (CMEDIA project) to Harmony FM in Ilorin, Kwara State owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). The meeting engaged staff and management on impactful investigative reporting, championing women’s leadership in newsrooms, and addressing pressing industry challenges. This was a bold step toward reshaping journalism for a stronger, more inclusive future!
Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) Q&A session
Preparation for the 19th Wole Soyinka Awards for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) commenced with a virtual Question & Answer session on Thursday 22 March. The session brought together past judges and award winners to share tips on crafting winning entries and address key concerns about the awards.
International Women’s Month Commemoration
WSCIJ collaborated with its Report Women Network (REWON) to mark the 2024 international women’s month. The session themed ‘Bridging the gender gap in media profession and reportage’, discussed the importance of in-depth research, mentorship, networking, and intentionality in promoting women’s inclusion.
Technical support visits to CMEDIA partners
Media collaboration was at the core of our activities as we visited Fridabs Solacebase Communications Limited, Albarka 89.9 FM, Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), and Kanem Press Digital Hub. We gained deeper insights into partners’ activities and proposed solutions to challenges as part of the CMEDIA project.
CMEDIA Partner activities
Albarka FM published an investigation on medical certificate fraud in Kwara Government hospitals. This undercover report chronicled how government hospitals issue medical certificates for proxies while laboratory attendants collect money without issuing receipts.
April
WSCIJ lost a hero of data journalism and women’s rights
April left a sour taste on our palates as we lost Rotimi Sankore, Executive Director/Editor-in-Chief, Africa Centre for Development Journalism (ACDJ) on Friday, 12 April 2024. The distinguished journalist was a valued partner and a strong supporter of our work at the centre. He was particularly pivotal to improving data journalism and women’s rights in media and society.
Journalism and Society Conversations
WSCIJ hosted five editions of #WSCIJConversations. They were, how the media can spark women’s economic empowerment by championing their rights and access to opportunities, Power of investigative journalism to unearth societal challenges and inspire action, Collaboration between journalists and media organisations fuels impactful reporting, especially at the grassroots level, commemoration of the life and contributions of Sankore and how journalists must adapt to technological changes, and embrace creativity and collaboration to stay relevant.
CMEDIA Partner activities
On Saturday 27 April, Stallion Times held a one-day capacity-building workshop on the permanent dialogue mechanism in Kogi. The meeting’s objective was to develop a strategy for generating citizens’ input for budget and service delivery and to co-create a mutually agreed Key Performance Index (KPI) to measure accountability.
May
Journalism & Society Conversations
Speakers at the Journalism & Society Conversations held on Tuesday, 7 May 2024, in commemoration of the 2024 World Press Freedom Day, condemned the increase in the number of restrictive laws for the media. The second edition was focused on media-civil society collaboration, journalists’ safety, and citizen engagement to drive response to investigative stories while speakers at the third edition for May advocated for decentralised legislative structures to promote improved public engagement and bridge policy gaps. The last edition for the month reflected on media freedom under President Bola Tinubu’s administration to mark his one year in office as the 16th President of Nigeria.
Story and leadership projects for Report Women Champions
Nine fellows of the Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) were selected to carry out story and leadership projects related to women and girls’ issues under the Champion Building activity of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Civic Space Guard Mental Health workshop
WSCIJ launched the mental health and psychosocial support for journalists under our Civic Space Guard project with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nigeria. This included a mental health workshop.
CMEDIA Partner activities
Clearview TV trained reporters on investigative reporting fundamentals and story-pitching techniques. Participants were tasked to stay resilient and unbiased to ensure impactful reporting. Frontfoot Media Initiative trained 46 selected journalists from five states in the North-East region of Nigeria at its Audit Reporting Workshop. Participants were exposed to cross-cutting issues in audit reporting, challenges in public finance management and budgeting, their connection to auditing, and the 1999 Constitution’s prescriptions on auditing.
June
Journalism & Society Conversations
The #WSCIJConversations was at the core of our activities in June. During these conversations, we discussed the importance of media sustainability, emerging media trends, and the implications on Nigeria’s democracy. We also listed possible solutions for child labour in Nigeria and journalists’ responsibilities in the digital age amid social media monetisation.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
Africa Foundation For Young Media Professionals (AFYMP) held a two-day Media Entrepreneurship Fellowship to train 17 media start-up owners and managers on media independence, business profitability, and sustainability in Lagos.
July
The WSCIJ celebrated the 90th birthday of Africa’s first Nobel Laureate and its grand patron, Wole Soyinka, with the 16th edition of the Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series. The conversation was themed around the resilience of truth in the face of misinformation and disinformation in the media.
WSCIJ statement on right to peaceful assembly and journalists’ safety
In a published statement, WSCIJ restated its commitment to right to peaceful assembly and journalists safety and urged the Nigerian government to uphold the constitutional right to peaceful assembly of Nigerians, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), ahead of the planned Monday, 29 July nationwide protest against poor economic conditions with hashtag #EndBadGovernment.
Journalism & Society Conversations
The five #WSCIJConversations in July underscored the importance of inclusive policy formulation and nuanced reporting to address food inflation in Nigeria, pivotal role of media in minimum wage debate and bridging the knowledge gap on national policies. Others were focused on the importance of subnational reporting as we drew attention to the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project of the WSCIJ and the public indifference to investigative reports.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) visited the Federal Ministry of Justice to incorporate gender accountability and transparency into its policies while FIJ trained early-career journalists in social justice reporting.
August
Report Women House-to-House Visits
The WSCIJ Team along with its resource persons visited three media organisations for its Report Women! News and Newsrooms House-to-House engagement on leadership status of women. The organisations – The Guardian Newspaper, TVC Communications, and Channels Television, in Lagos, on Monday, 12, Thursday, 29 and Friday, 30 respectively.
The visits addressed the underrepresentation of women in Nigerian newsrooms and news using the data from the “Who leads the newsrooms and news?” report.
The visit was part of the Report Women! News and Newsroom Engagement project.
Journalism & Society Conversations
#WSCIJConversations tackled key issues, including keeping mainstream media relevant to younger audiences, overhauling journalism education to bridge the gap between theory and practice, addressing Nigeria’s internet connectivity crisis and its impact on the media, and advocating for media law reforms to safeguard press freedom and democracy.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
It was a busy month for CMEDIA partners. Kanem Press trained journalists and stakeholders on preserving culture for economic growth as Frontfoot Media Initiative hosted a roundtable for 36 editors on audit reporting in Lagos. The 2024 ACDJ Inequality Reporting Fellowship training was held in August
September
Masterclass on Holistic Safety
WSCIJ equipped 18 investigative reporters from across Nigeria converged on Abeokuta, Ogun state with the skills and knowledge to prioritise their safety in the line of duty. Organised as part of our Civic Space Guard project, the physical training titled ‘Masterclass on Holistic Safety’ was held between Monday 2 and Thursday 5.
The training featured sessions on legal, physical, and mental safety, a train-the-trainer session, and civic space protection. The project is in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) with the support of the Netherlands Embassy under the ‘Leveraging the Power of the media to fortify the civic space and tackle malinformation’ programme.
Journalism & Society Conversations
#WSCIJConversations continued in September with 4 editions featuring 16 resource persons. We discussed ‘Leveraging user-generated content for news coverage’ and ‘The media’s influence on Nigeria’s circle of outrage and engagement apathy’. We scaled up conversations from the Masterclass on Holistic Safety with another XSpace conversation as experts offered practical steps to addressing mental health challenges in the media while the last edition in September was on how to turn existing policies into practical solutions to boost access to information in Nigeria to mark the 2024 International Day for Universal Access to Information.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
Our CMEDIA partner, Ikenga Online hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the role of political grooming in shaping future leaders for South East governance. National Record trained reporters on fact-checking, data journalism as the National Union of Journalists president flagged off the maiden PRNigeria Young Communication Fellowship.
October
Report Women 10th Anniversary & Expert Sources website launch
We celebrated 10 years of Report Women! programme which focuses on major issues of access and abuse as they affect girls and women in Nigeria. The 10th-anniversary celebration spotlighted the need for news media to engage women as expert news sources with the launch of the Report Women! Experts source guide website. The website featured thought leaders across eight sectors – Agriculture, Business and Economy, Education, Health and Science, Law and Human Rights, Media, Politics and Governance and Security.
Award Call for Application
The call for applications for the 19th edition of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR) also commenced as the build-up to the annual event continued with a panel session to provide answers to frequently made mistakes during entry submission.
Journalism & Society Conversations: Celebrating Nigeria at 64 and others
We celebrated Nigeria at 64 with an overview of Nigeria’s journey toward press freedom and the journey so far. In celebration of the 2024 #InternationalDayoftheGirlChild, we discussed media’s portrayal of women and its effects on societal views and aspirations of the girl child at the second edition of the #WSCIJConversations in October. The third edition reinforced the need for the Report Women Experts Source Guide as panellists discussed strategies for integrating female voices in news and newsroom leadership. The last edition of #WSCIJConversations for October explored renewable energy options and tech innovations to help media stay afloat amid the rising fuel prices in Nigeria.
Civic Space Report public presentation and conversation
WSCIJ held the 2024 Civic Space Guard Conference on Wednesday 30 October in Abuja. The conference themed ‘AI, free press, and civic space: Tools, challenges, and future of investigative reporting’ also witnessed the public presentation of the centre’s second edition of the Journalism and Civic Space report.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
Activities continued as WSCIJ organised two separate training for the 26 partner organisations on sustainability and collaboration. Also Dataphyte published a report ‘Despite Government Investment, Mothers Struggle to Access Health Services in Borno Communities’. It unmasked the harsh reality women face in Borno state, fighting to survive after a decade of insurgency, market infernos, and natural disasters. Media Rights Agenda stepped up its media advocacy with five new publications as it pushes for a free civic space in Nigeria.
November
‘On Nigeria’ programme close out meeting
We returned to Abeokuta for the second time in 2024 with some media executives from the Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort of MacArthur Foundation’s ‘On Nigeria’ programme which WSCIJ led. The two-day sustainability retreat centred on Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven solutions for media, revenue strategies and sustainability. We also took time out to visit Prof. Wole Soyinka in his country home. The retreat closed the curtain on the ‘On Nigeria programme’ that ended in 2024.
Civic Space Guard High-Level Stakeholders meeting
Next was our High-Level Stakeholders Meeting on Safety of Journalists and Robust Civic Space chaired by Nuhu Ribadu mni, National Security Adviser (NSA). Participants agreed on the urgent need to collaborate to safeguard journalists and civic space to improve democracy and Nigeria’s international image.
Journalism & Society Conversations
The November editions of the #WSCIJConversations featured 21 resource persons as we dissected the gap between journalists’ constitutional rights and their daily realities in the field, strategies for a sustainable investigative journalism landscape in Nigeria, impact of digital evolution on television’s role in society as part of activities marking the annual World Television Day. The last edition in November was on strategies to create a media space that amplifies women’s voices, fights gender-based violence, and drives growth to commemorate the 2024 #16DaysOfActivism.
Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting
Of the 219 entries received from investigative journalists, photojournalists and editorial cartoonists submitted for the 19th WSAIR, 15 finalists were shortlisted by the 2024 award judges’ board.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
An investigative report by one of our CMEDIA partners- Safer-Media Initiative, titled ‘Billions budgeted, yet Bwari communities face infant deaths, miscarriages amid lack of basic amenities’ uncovered the tragic consequences of fund misappropriation. The story detailed how pregnant women in Pmalogo and Dnakulu communities within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja trek long distances to access healthcare services due to the absence of basic amenities in their community.
December
Amplify In-depth Media (AIM) Conference and Award
Our December highlight was the 2024 Amplify In-depth Media (AIM) Conference and Awards. The 2024 AIM Conference panellists probed the intricate relationship between media ethics, investigative journalism, and strategies for safeguarding these principles in an era of technological disruption. The 19th WSAIR Award celebrated the outstanding work of 15 journalists and honoured Chinyere Okunna and the late Beko Ransome-Kuti for his civil rights activism. Beyond these recognitions, the long service awards were also presented to members of the WSCIJ board of trustees for 15 years of leadership and service to the centre. You can read more about the 2024 AIM Conference and Awards in the December 2024 newsletter.
Journalism & Society Conversations
We joined the global community to mark the 2024 International Day of Persons with Disabilities with the last #WSCIJConversations of the year as we discussed ‘Breaking barriers, normalising disability and media’s promotion of inclusive representation’.
CMEDIA Partner Activities
A CMEDIA partner, Solacebase published a report ‘Sokoto multimillion naira hospitals lie abandoned as residents struggle for medical care’ despite the government’s pledge to address rural healthcare challenges while ‘Kidnappers rip off N1.81 trillion as ransom in Northern Nigeria – Report’ was published on ‘WikkiData’- a WikkiTimes’ data-driven platform. The story pictured how kidnapping has evolved into a thriving criminal enterprise, severely impacting the economy, livelihoods, and social fabric of Northern Nigeria.
Closing remarks
2025 holds greater promises as WSCIJ clocks 20. As we march into the new year, we acknowledge our partners’ contributions and their role in our 2024 journey.
We are also grateful to our media and funding partners— The MacArthur Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria for making the journey smoother.
WSCIJ looks forward to more collaborative and innovative opportunities on this journey toward a more transparent and accountable society.
