Nigerian Journalist Shortlisted For Fetisov Journalism Awards

For his series on the certificate forgery scandal of erstwhile finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, a PREMIUM TIMES journalist, AbdulAziz Abdulaziz, has made the shortlist for Fetisov Journalism Awards.

Mr Abdulaziz’s series, “Bursting a Powerful Nigerian Minister: The Kemi Adeosun series”, fingered Ms Adeosun for skipping the compulsory one–year service programme and her use of a fake certificate to get jobs in all of private, state and federal levels as against the law.

As a result of the story, the minister ultimately resigned from office.

Journalists Jaafar Jaafar, Nasir Zango Bag Integrity Awards

The same story won Mr Abdulaziz the 2018 Investigative Journalist of the year in the 13th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards.

This series was shortlisted in the Outstanding Investigative Reporting category alongside 11 others.

Others on shortlist

Apart from Mr Abdulaziz, five other Nigerians, the most by any country, also made the shortlist.

They include Damilola Banjo of Sahara Reporter for her “Investigation: How forgery, bribery, exam malpractice booms at Lagos primary schools”; International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR’s, Amos Abba for his “How Nestle Nigeria contaminates water supply of its host community in Abuja” entry.

Others are Isaac Anyaogu for his “Dying in instalments” investigation published by BusinessDay; Punch’s Afeez Hanafi story on “Blind votes: Frustration of visually-impaired voters who depend on others to make their choice”; “Despite our cries, INEC refused to make provision for us – Visually-impaired voters”; and Peter Nkanga’s special report on “How Buhari’s govt detained Nigerian journalist for two years without trial”.

Winners from each category of awards are expected to be revealed at the award ceremony which holds January 22, 2020.

“The mission of Fetisov Journalism Awards is to promote universal human values such as honesty, justice, courage and nobility through the example of outstanding journalists from all over the world as their dedicated service and commitment contribute to changing the world for the better,” the organisers wrote.

Below is the full list of the shortlisted journalists

Outstanding Contribution to Peace

Albina Sorguč (Bosnia and Herzegovina) “Sarajevo to Pay €358,000 for War Crime Suspects’ Defence”; “‘We Were Just Like Them’ – in Bosnia, Past Meets Present”; “Bosnian War Rape Suspect Avoids Prosecution in Sweden”; “Bosnian Serbs’ War Commissions: Fact-Seeking or Truth-Distorting?”

Emina Diydarevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) “Bosnian Judiciary Restricts Information on War Crime Cases”; “Croatia Cuts Bosnian Croat’s Jail Term, Causing Political Storm”; “Bosnia’s Updated War Crimes Strategy Languishes in Limbo”

Francesca Mannocchi (Italy) “Libya, Tripoli under fire”

Mohamed Aboelgheit (Egypt) “The End User: How did western weapons end up in the hands of ISIS and AQAP in Yemen”

Contribution to Civil Rights

Afeez Hanafi (Nigeria) “Blind votes: Frustration of visually-impaired voters who depend on others to make their choice”; “Despite our cries, INEC refused to make provision for us – Visually-impaired voters”

Anuja Jaiman (India) “Under Modi, Hindu hardliners turn Indian theatre into a battleground”

Ellena Cruse (United Kingdom) “Meet the Sex Workers of Ilford Lane”

Katie May (Canada) “Remote life, rough justice”

Megan Janetsky (Colombia) “Hospitals are turning into ‘cemeteries for migrants’ on Colombia-Venezuela border”

Mizar Kemal (Iraq) “Locked her in a dark room and prevented her from eating.. The journey of an Iraqi woman from marriage to quadriplegia”

Natashya Gutierrez (Philippines) “Abortion Story”

Peter Nkanga (Nigeria) “Special Report: How Buhari’s govt detained Nigerian journalist for two years without trial”

Outstanding Investigative Reporting

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (Nigeria) “Bursting a Powerful Nigerian Minister: The Kemi Adeosun series”

Azhar Kalamujić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) “Judge Fazlagić Disinherited Holocaust Victims”

Christine Kenneally (Australia) “The Ghosts of the Orphanage”

Damilola Banjo (Nigeria) “Investigation: How forgery, bribery, exam malpractice booms at Lagos primary schools”

Diego Cabot (Argentina) “The Notebooks of Corruption”

Ian Cobain (United Kingdom) “‘Mind control’: The secret UK government blueprints shaping post-terror planning”

Mariela Castañón (Guatemala) “People Trafficking, a denunciated crime in the Virgen de la Asunción Safe Home”

Mark Anderson, Khadija Sharife (South Africa) “The Great Gambia Height How Yahya Jammeh Stole a Country”

Mathias Destal, Geoffrey Livolsi, Lorenzo Tugnoli, Michel Despratx (France) “Made in France”

Roli Srivastava (India) “Missing wombs: the health scandal enslaving families in rural India”

Solomon Tembang Mforgham (Cameroon) “How illegal Chinese mining destroys livelihoods, fuels conflicts in Cameroon”

Wendy Selene Pérez Becerra, Paula Mónaco Felipe (Mexico) “The Unearthers”

Excellence in Environmental Journalism

Amos Abba (Nigeria) “How Nestle Nigeria contaminates water supply of its host community in Abuja”

Amy Yee (United States) “Rescuing Sea Turtles From Fishermen’s Nets”

Diya Kohli (India) “What’s brewing in Araku Valley”

Fadi Al Hasani (Palestine) “Investigation: Irrigation and fertilization of agricultural lands in Khuza’a with sewage water”

Guilherme Russo (Brazil) “Meet The Forest Growers”

Henrik Kaufholz (Denmark) “Shipworms are eating our heritage”

Isaac Anyaogu (Nigeria) “Dying in instalments”

Laurie Goering (United Kingdom) “Running dry: Competing for water on a thirsty planet”

Philip Jacobson, Tom Johnson (United States) “The secret deal to destroy paradise”

PT