Storytellers from the Centre for Storytelling and Development Initiative (CSDI) have distinguished themselves at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development’s (CJID) 10th Anniversary, winning six prestigious awards across multiple categories.
The awards were presented during CJID’s Dinner and Awards Night, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, in recognition of exceptional contributions to journalism excellence in Nigeria and West Africa.
Saheed
Saheed Ibrahim, the CEO of CSDI, was a double awardee, winning Best Fellow (Joint Winner) and 1st Runner-Up for Best Fact-Check in the 2024 Kwame Karikari Fact-checking Fellowship Award for his investigative piece, “Investigating Fake Nigeria Customs Service Auctioning Accounts on Facebook.”
Juliet
CSDI’s Director of Programmes, Juliet Buna, also made a remarkable impact, earning three honours. She was named Best Fellow (a joint recognition with Saheed Ibrahim) and won Best Fact-Check in the 2024 Kwame Karikari Fact-checking Fellowship Award for her investigative piece, “Unmasking Facebook Users’ Diabetes Cure as Scam.”
Additionally, she emerged as Runner-Up for Best Reporting in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in West Africa, in the maiden Excellence in Journalism Awards for her compelling story, “Culture of Silence: How Fear Obstructs Justice for Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Ondo School.”
Emmanuel
The success extended to the next generation of storytellers. Emmanuel Oluwadola, one of CSDI’s mentees, won the Best Fact-Check Award in the Alfred Opubor Next Gen Award 2024, a category celebrating outstanding campus journalism across Nigeria. His fact-check was on “Incorrect: MTN, AIRTEL Are Not Giving Free Data, Airtime to Celebrate Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record.”
Reacting to the accolades, Saheed Ibrahim attributed the success to CSDI’s unwavering dedication to using storytelling for development and nurturing the next generation of storytellers.
He remarked: “These awards are evidence of the dedication and resilience of our team at CSDI.
“We are honoured and this achievement fuels our passion for amplifying underrepresented voices and using the media to drive development.
“We are grateful to the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, and we celebrate with them on their 10th anniversary.”
