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| L-R Ogidi, Famutimi, Ogunseye, Ayinor and Aiyejina |
At the 8th edition of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting, attended by the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, and held in Lagos on Monday, PUNCH won in the Print, Health and Photojournalism categories.
The PUNCH had at the 22nd Edition of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence held on November 24, swept all the top prizes, winning seven out of the 12 available prizes for newspapers.
Apart from BusinessDay and the National Standard, whose journalists,Mike Asukwuo and Elijah Olusegun , were nominated in the Print and Cartoon categories on Monday, PUNCH was the other print newspaper whose journalists made the shortlist of the Wole Soyinka award.
Two journalists from the online medium, Premium Times, Ini Ekott and Ruona Agbroko-Mayer, with their story, “How Nigeria squanders millions on generators its foreign missions don’t need” won in the Online category. They were declared overall winners.
PUNCH’s serial award winner and Editor of Sunday PUNCH, Toyosi Ogunseye, won in the Health Category.
Ogunseye won with her three-part story, titled, “The rich also cry – A tale of death and diseases in a heavily-polluted upscale estate.”
Ogunseye was the only finalist in the category.
Last week, the story had also won Ogunseye the Nobert Zongo Print Journalist of the Year and Nobert Zongo Investigative Journalist of the Year award in Burkina Faso during the bi-annual Nobert Zongo Investigative Journalism Awards. The Nobert Zongo award is an eminent journalism award, popular among journalists in Francophone countries.
Earlier in the year, Ogunseye had also won the Environment Prize in the CNN African Journalist of the Year awards held in South Africa. Before then, she had emerged runner-up Best Young Journalist from the Developing World at the United Kingdom Foreign Press Association’s Media Award. She had earlier been named the Nigeria Academy of Science Journalist of the year early 2013.
PUNCH’s other winning entry at the Wole Soyinka Awards was submitted by a correspondent in the newspaper’s News and Special Features Desk, Temitayo Famutimi. Famutimi won the Print category prize for his emotive 13-part story on a compulsory “Virginity Test” conducted by a principal on her secondary school pupils in Ogun State. The story was published between December 2012 and March 2013 in The PUNCH, Saturday PUNCH and Sunday PUNCH.
In the Photojournalism Category, PUNCH’s photojournalist, Stanley Ogidi, emerged winner with his entry, “Two bridges, one city”published on the front page of the June 23, 2013 edition of Sunday PUNCH. Ogidi’s other entry for the competition, a “School in the heart of Lagos”published in Sunday PUNCH, was the only runner up in that category.
PUNCH’s award-winning Judicial Correspondent, Adeyemi Adesomoju, who won the 2013 edition of the Diamond for Media Excellence in the Judicial Reporting Category, was commended for his work, “Court where alleged offenders are rushed to jail.” The story was published on June 17, 2013.
Other winners at the event were Asukwuo of Businessday (Editorial Cartoon category) for his cartoon, ‘Nigerian athletes who would have made a difference at Moscow 2013’; and Aderonke Ogunleye of Premium Times (Sports category).
Tobore Ovorie of Premium Times was the runner-up in the Online Category for her story on the shortage of specialist medicare professionals in Nigeria. Bassey Udoh and Ini Ekott of Premium Times were runners-up in the Online Category, for their story on land grab in Abuja. Emmanuel Ogala of Premium Times was also commended in the same category for his story on internet privacy in Nigeria.
The Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence went to a former Guardian editor and senior editor at the defunct NEXT newspaper, Amma Ogan, while the Anti-Corruption Defender Award was won by the Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu.
Earlier on Saturday, PUNCH had posted a dominant performance at the 2013 Sports Marketing and Media Awards held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos. The selection was conducted via a voting system that had voters casting their votes on the website of the organisers of the event, through a secure hack-free technological online panel.
The nation’s most widely read newspaper emerged as the Sports Newspaper of The Year (Regular) for the second consecutive year while the Sports Editor, The PUNCH, Mr. Pius Ayinor, retained the Sports Editor of The Year (Regular) award.
Sports Correspondent, ’Tana Aiyejina, was also named the Sports Writer of The Year. Again, Ogidi, completed the sweep, carting home the Sports Photographer of The Year award. PUNCH therefore won all the four awards in the newspaper (regular) category.
The PUNCH and The Nation tied in the newspaper (regular) category but both media houses were named the Sports Newspaper of The Year – the award being the only one that The Nation won in the newspaper category.
Awards were also given in the newspaper (sports-based), TV and radio categories.
Special recognition awards were also given to the Cross River Sports Commissioner, Patrick Ugbe; Larry Izamoje (CEO, Brila FM); AIPS Africa President, Mitchell Obi; NFF board member, Emeka Inyama;
Sokoto State Commissioner for Information, Mallam Danladi Bako; and Dennis Sami, Chairman, The Nigeria Pilot.
Also recognised were Complete Sports publisher, Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbese; veteran broadcaster, Fabio Lanipekun; Tony Akiotu, Isaac Ibafidon, Muyiwa Daniels, Paul Bassey and Olu Amadasun.
Veteran journalists Pa John Ojido, Peter Osugo, Bisi Lawrence, Demola Ali, Ajibade Fashina-Thomas, Walter Folorunsho Oyatogun and Robert Ndabai were also honoured at the event.