PUNCH Investigations head, Tessy Igomu, has been awarded the West African journalist of the year in the sixth edition of the West African Media Excellence Awards.
Igomu, one of the 25 journalists earlier shortlisted for the regional awards, was crowned at the award ceremony held in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday night.
The organisers of the regional awards, Media Foundation for West Africa, had in July announced that 950 entries were received.
“Among the 950 entries received for 10 different categories include Human Rights, Investigations, Anti-Corruption, Health reporting and the two new categories, Women Empowerment, and Migration reporting, which were introduced for the Awards this year,” Kwaku Asante, Programme Officer, MFWA, disclosed.
Meanwhile, at the award ceremony on Saturday, the winners of the 10 categories were unveiled.
Igomu won the Environmental reporting category with her entry titled: “We can’t breathe! Ogun community chokes under Chinese recycling plant’s fumes”.
In the story published in 2021, Igomu chronicled the activities of a Chinese recycling company, Yoyo Resources Recycling Limited Company and the environmental pollution that was taking a toll on some residents’ health.
Shortly after the publication, the company relocated from the community and compensated some of the victims of the pollution.
The report, apart from winning the environmental reporting category, earned Igomu the West African journalist award and a $2000 cash prize.
Also, TheNation‘s Olatunji Ololade won the Human rights category, Premium Times‘ Oladeinde Olawoyin clinched the business reporting prize while the Anti-Corruption reporting category was won by a freelance journalist, Adeola Oladipupo.
Other winners of the night included; Burkina Faso journalists; Nabole Ismael and Basseratou Kindo; Ghanaian journalists, Kwatey Nartey and Seth Boateng, and Guinea Bissau’s Darcico Barbosa.
