AFRICAS GREATEST REPORTERS OF ALL TIME

AFRICAS GREATEST REPORTERS OF ALL TIME

The late Mr Dele Giwa is a trail blazer and without a doubt an inspiration in the field of free press in Africa,he paid the supreme price of his believes in free speech with his life courtesy of a mailed bomb

Sumonu Oladele Giwa
Born	16 March 1947 Ile-Ife
Died	19 October 1986 (Age 39) Ikeja, Lagos
Cause of death	Mail bomb explosion
Nationality	Nigerian
Education	Brooklyn College, New York City Fordham University
Occupation	Journalist, editor and publisher
Known for	Newswatch
Spouse(s)	Florence Ita Giwa (1980s; divorced) Olufunmilayo Olaniyan (1984-1986; his death)
Children	5

Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor and founder of Newswatch magazine.

Contents

• 1 Early life and career
• 2 Personal life
• 3 Assassination
• 4 Investigation, Litigation and Controversy
• 5 References
• 5.1 Notes

Early life and career

Sumonu Oladele "Baines" Giwa was born on 16 March 1947 to a poor family working in the palace of Oba Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ife. He attended local Authority Modern School in Lagere, Ile-lfe. When his father moved to Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife as a laundry man, he gained admission to that school.^[1] Dele Giwa travelled to the USA for his higher education, earning a BA in English from Brooklyn College in 1977 and enrolled for a Graduate program at Fordham University. He worked with the New York Times as a news assistant for four years after which he relocated to Nigeria to work with Daily Times.^[2]

Dele Giwa and fellow journalists Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed founded Newswatch in 1984, and the first edition was distributed on 28 January 1985.^[3] A 1989 description of the magazine said it "changed the format of print journalism in Nigeria [and] introduced bold, investigative formats to news reporting in Nigeria".^[4] However, in the first few months of the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who took power in August 1985, the magazine was shamelessly flattering. It printed his face on the cover four times and even criticised "anyone who attempted to make life unpleasant for Babangida".^[5] Later, the paper took a more hostile view of the Babangida regime.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Giwa married an American nurse in 1974.^[2] His second marriage, to Florence Ita Giwa, lasted 10 months. He later married Olufunmilayo Olaniyan on 10 July 1984, and they were married until his death in 1986.^[6] He was survived by his mother,^[7] wives and children.^[8]

Assassination

Dele Giwa was killed by a mail bomb in his Lagos home on 19 October 1986.^[9] The assassination occurred two days after he had been interviewed by State Security Service (SSS) officials. In an off-the-record interview with airport journalists, Lt. Col. A.K Togun, the Deputy Director of the State Security Service SSS had claimed that on 9 October Dele Giwa and Alex Ibru had organised a media parley for media executives and the newly created SSS. Togun claimed that it was at this meeting that the SSS and the media executives reached a secret censorship agreement. Under this agreement, the media was to report any story with potential to embarrass the government to the SSS before they tried to publish same.^[10]

Giwa had been invited by the SSS to their headquarters for the first time on 19 September 1986 after writing an article in which he described the newly introduced Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) as "God's experiment" and suggested that if SFEM failed, the people would will stone their leaders in the streets. Giwa was interviewed and his statement taken by two SSS operatives. He was later taken to meet with Lt Col Togun, the deputy director of the agency in his office. Togun is reported to have told Giwa that he found nothing offensive in the story as Giwa had also stated in the same story that he was hopeful that Babangida seemed determined to make SFEM work.^[11]

According to Giwa's neighbour and colleague, Ray Ekpu, on 16 October 1986, Giwa had been questioned over the telephone by Col Halilu Akilu of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) over an allegation that Dele had been heard speaking to some people about arms importation. SSS officials reportedly summoned Giwa to their headquarters again on 16 October 1986, and on the next day Ekpu accompanied him to the SSS headquarters for the interview. Lt. Col Togun accused Giwa and Newswatch of planning to write the "other side" of the story on Ebitu Ukiwe who was removed as Chief of the General staff, to General Babangida. The magazine had published a cover story titled, "Power Games: Ukiwe loses out", in its edition of 20 October which was on sale on 13 October 1986. Togun also accused Giwa plotting with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and students to carry out a socialist revolution. Giwa was also accused of saying that Newswatch would employ the suspended police public relations officer Alozie Ogugbuaja. Ogugbuaja claims that on 16 October 1986, a bomb was defused by the police bomb squad at his official residence in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. Ogugbuaja also said that he suspected that his phone might have been bugged because Giwa and Ray Ekpu in one of their telephone conversations with him had indeed promised to employ him in Newswatch if the police dismissed him.^[12][13] Ray Ekpu also believed that their houses and phones may have been bugged because he did discuss employing Ogugbuaja in Newswatch with dele Giwa over the phone only; he said that he found two bugging devices in the cover of two books inside his study.^[14] Lt. Col. Togun while questioning Giwa had claimed that he wasn't aware of the fact that Akilu had already questioned Giwa over the gun running allegations the day before, this was after Giwa had brought it to his attention.^[15]

Giwa reported the interrogations to his friend Prince Tony Momoh who was then the Minister of Communications, Giwa had told Momoh that he feared for his life because of the weight of the accusations levelled against him. According to Ekpu, Momoh "dismissed it as a joke and said the security men just wanted to rattle him"; Momoh promised to look into the matter. On 18 October Giwa also spoke to Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, the Chief of General Staff who said he was familiar with the matter and also promised to look into it.

Later on 18 October, a day before the bombing, a staff of the DMI had phoned Giwa's house and asked for his office phone number from his wife Funmi. This same person from the DMI later called back to say he couldn't reach Giwa at the office and then put Col Akilu on the line. Ekpu alleges that Akilu asked Giwa's wife for driving directions to the house and when she asked him why he needed the directions he explained that he wanted to stop by the house on his way to Kano and he wasn't very familiar with Ikeja, he also offered that the President's ADC had something for Giwa, probably an invitation. According to Ekpu this didn't come as a surprise because Giwa had received advance copies of some of the President's speeches in the past through Akilu.^[10][14]

On 19 October, Giwa phoned Akilu to ask why he had been calling his house the previous day, Akilu was alleged to have explained that he only wanted to tell Giwa that the matter had been resolved. Ekpu says Giwa replied Akilu that it wasn't over and that he had already informed his lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi to follow up on the matter. Akilu then told Giwa that there was no need for that, that it wasn't a matter for lawyers and that he should consider the matter resolved.

About 40 minutes after the telephone conversation with Akilu, a package was delivered to Giwa's guard (the accounts of which vehicle was used to deliver the package vary). When Giwa received the package, he was with Kayode Soyinka (London Bureau Chief of Newswatch). The package exploded, mortally wounded Giwa and temporarily deafening Soyinka, who had excused himself to the rest room shortly before Giwa was supposed to have attempted opening the package. Giwa was rushed to the hospital where he eventually died from his wounds.^[10]

Investigation, Litigation and Controversy

On twenty October, the day after the bombing, the government convened a press conference presided over by Augustus Aikhomu. Before the press conference started, all press photographers, foreign journalists, and Nigerians that worked for foreign news media were ordered out. Those left behind were told that the briefing was "off the record" and Aikhomu would not be entertaining any questions.^[16]

Aikhomu then went on to ask Ismaila Gwarzo, the Director of the SSS and Haliru Akilu to render their accounts of what had transpired between Dele Giwa and their agencies in the recent past. Gwarzo confirmed that the SSS had invited Giwa for questioning over allegations of gun running. Akilu on his part confirmed that he had called Giwa's home on 18 October to ask for directions to the house so he could stop over to see Giwa while on his way to Kano through Ikeja airport. Akilu also said that he had wanted to visit Giwa at home to "prove a Hausa adage that if you visit someone in his house, you show him you are really a friend." Ekpu claimed that he remembered Gwarzo saying that the killing was "quite embarrassing" and also that Tony Momoh had described it as "a clear case of assassination"; later he was quoted saying, "a special probe would serve no useful purpose".^[17] Graffiti of the time implied a belief that the SSS had been responsible.^[16][18]

In a newspaper interview years later in retirement, Chris Omeben who at the time was the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Federal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (FIIB) at Alagbon, on his part recalled that he was the second officer to have handled the case file after he had taken it over from his predecessor at the FIIB, Victor Pam. Omeben explained that he had done what any competent investigator would have done in unraveling the circumstances surrounding the death of Dele Giwa. He went on to say that he had examined the crime scene and found it suspicious that the toilet adjacent to the blast site which Kayode Soyinka alleged he was occupying when the explosion occurred had also suffered damage from the blast but Soyinka was left unscathed. Omeben described the force of the explosion to have been strong enough to blow out the steel bars over the toilet window (burglary protection), which in his own assessment made Soyinka's story less convincing. Omeben also claims he requested to interview Dan Agbese, Ray Ekpu and Kayode Soyinka. Of the three, only Agbese turned up, he was later to find out that Soyinka had fled the country.^[19] Omeben also recalled that in the course of his investigations he had cause to interrogate both Haliru Akilu and Tunde Togun. According to Omeben Akilu defended Giwa's invitation to the DMI by saying Giwa was invited to clarify statements he made to a New York daily which had been assessed as having potential to paint the country in a bad light in the international press.^[20] The only known interview Giwa gave to any New York daily was one published eight months earlier in a New York times story about rising religious nationalism and extremism in Nigeria. On the issue of rising Islamic nationalism, Giwa gave this singular quote in the story, It's a dangerous, explosive trend,...in the worst case, I see a situation where die-hard Christians and die-hard Moslems are fighting in the streets.^[21] Omeben said he was satisfied with the reasons Akilu and Togun gave for inviting Giwa.^[20]

However, Soyinka has come out to reply Omeben and accused him of spreading deliberate falsehood with his comments on him on his involvement with the parcel bomb incident. In an interview he granted The Nation newspaper of Lagos of Saturday, 19 January 2013, Soyinka strongly denied that he ran to the toilet when the bomb exploded. He said he did not know where Omeben got that false information from. When questioned, Soyinka requested to not be required to relive the experience again.^{[citation needed]}

Omeben also alleged that he was being pressured into naming Babangida and Akilu as suspects when he yet had no evidence linking them to the crime. Some of this pressure led to the formation of a special squad to investigate the case, the squad was headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Abubakar Tsav. Omeben alleges that the then Inspector General of Police Gambo Jimeta has asked him to leave the case with the Tsav team out of anger at how messy the whole situation was getting.^[19]

Omeben also spoke about certain "fixations" in the minds of the general public about the case, in his own words "...There is the tendency for people to make up their minds as to what they want to see or hear. It may not necessarily be the truth and once they are so fixated, every other thing that somebody else would say would not mean anything to them. Dele Giwa's case suffered such a fixation".^[19]

In testimony that he gave on 3 July 2001 before the Justice Oputa led Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission (HRVIC), Tsav alleged that the government stonewalled his investigation into the assassination. Tsav claimed that he was not granted permission to question key actors involved, including Tunde Togun, Ismaila Gwarzo and Haliru Akilu. He also said that he had requested that the privileges of these officers be withdrawn so he could take their statements and conduct a search of their offices and residences for items of evidential value but this request was denied. Tsav averred that in his final report, he had concluded that there was enough circumstantial evidence to accuse the duo of Togun and Akilu of conspiracy to murder but still the government did not make these two officers available for interrogation or a voice identification as he had requested.^[22]

Tsav claims that he handed the case file back to Chris Omeben. Tsav alleged that none of his recommendations were implemented, the case file was never returned to him and that there was no evidence that the case was transferred to another officer or agency. Tsav said he believed Giwa was killed because he believed Giwa was in "the way of some powerful forces".^[22]

After the investigation stalled, various conspiracy theories arose to explain why Giwa was killed. One of the most popular and still the most enduring has been the Gloria Okon connection. Gloria Okon was a Lady who was arrested in 1985 at the Aminu Kano International airport on suspicion of drug smuggling. Soon after, the it was alleged that she had died in custody, the government subsequently constituted a commission of inquiry to investigate the matter.^[23]

Conspiracy theorists allege that Gloria Okon was a drug mule working for the wife of General Ibrahim Babangida who was then the Minister of Defence in the regime of General Muhammadu Buhari. The theorists allege that during interrogation Okon had claimed that she worked for highly placed Nigerians, in particular Babangida's wife. The theory goes on that Babangida spirited Okon out of detention to the United Kingdom, sold the public the ruse of a dead Gloria Okon and that Dele Giwa happened upon Okon on a trip to the UK where she told him her story. The story goes on that armed with this information, Giwa tried to blackmail the now Military President, Ibrahim Babangida and this was why he was killed. This blackmail theory might not be unconnected with the off-the-record interview that Lt Col A.K Togun gave to airport correspondents of the Guardian on 27 October 1986. In the interview, when asked about Dele Giwa's killing and the suspicion in the public that he was killed by the government, Togun was quoted as saying "...one person cannot come out to blackmail us. I am an expert in blackmail. I can blackmail very well. I studied propaganda so no one person can come and blackmail us after an agreement...". Togun's statement was in the context of the secret agreement reached by Giwa and other media executives at the 9 October meeting, he seemed to accuse Giwa of reneging on the agreement leading to Giwa being invited for questioning on 16 October. Theorists also allege that Babangida's drug running activities were brought to the attention of the Buhari-Idiagbon regime which led the regime to slate him for retirement on 1 October 1985. They also say that it was his impending retirement that inspired him to plan the coup that toppled Buhari in August 1985.^[16][24]

Giwa's colleagues at Newswatch have debunked this theory and deny any link between Giwa, Gloria Okon and Mrs. Babangida. In a Newswatch interview marking the twenty fifth anniversary of the magazine, one of the founding partners of the organisation Yakubu Mohammed explained the Giwa-Newswatch-Gloria Okon link. Mohammed claims that Dele Giwa had not been writing any Gloria Okon story and that the closest Newswatch got to a Gloria Okon story was at one of the magazine's editorial conferences where a Newswatch reporter, Bose lasaki, who was a niece to President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke about a "rumour" making the rounds to the effect that Gloria Okon had not died in detention but had been spirited out of the country. Mohammed claimed that Lasaki's story was dismissed off-hand but that she was asked to find out more about the rumour. Lasaki was alleged to have returned for the next editorial conference the following week and declared that there was no substance to the rumour. Mohammed alleged that Giwa was not at any of these meetings. The Ibrahim Babangida drug running angle was also called into question by revelations made by the embittered former head of the National Security Organization (NSO), Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Rafindadi. In 1985, following a request by the Supreme Military Council, the NSO under Rafindadi investigated Babangida and found him complicit of forgery and activities inimical to national security. This issue arose as a result of Babangida and his in-law, Mr Sunny Okogwu's interest in an arms manufacturing venture in Kaduna called Black Gold. The SMC, based on the NSO's findings slated Babangida for retirement.^[25][26] The only witness to the events shortly before the bomb exploded, Mr Kayode Soyinka had alleged that the package had a label with the seal of the Nigerian President and also claimed that the label indicated that it was from the office of the president. However, no other witness has corroborated this claim, Giwa's 17-year-old son, Billy, who had delivered the package to Giwa has never corroborated this claim. Mr Soyinka's testimony about the events prior to and after the bombing have also been brought into question, there have been accusations made to the effect that he might have been the same person that detonated the bomb by remote control as he was not injured in the explosion.^[27]

Mr Soyinka is also alleged to have given conflicting accounts of the events to the Police and media outlets, he is also accused of fleeing the country while investigations were ongoing.^[27] To the accusation of fleeing the country, Soyinka has this to say in that his interview with The Nation (Saturday, 19 January 2013): "Dele was very close to his mother. He did not joke with her at all. It was an honour for me to have met her. The last time I saw her was at Dele's burial in their village near Auchi, in Edo State.^[7] I was there live with my wife contrary to the erroneous story of Babangida's government's mischief makers who tried to deceive the Nigerian people in order to exonerate the government from the assassination of Dele Giwa, saying that I had fled the country. They deliberately spread all kinds of falsehood, ignoring even newspaper reports and pictures of myself and my wife in attendance at the burial. And mind you, how could I have fled the country? My wife and children were not in Nigeria with me when the bomb exploded, they had to take the next available flight to Nigeria to join me. Yet, Babangida's men said I fled the country. And my family and I remained in the country throughout the whole period of the controversy and burial arrangement. We returned to London together through the former British Caledonian Airways, through Muritala Mohammed Airport. There was no way we could have left quietly. We were accompanied to and seen off at the airport by friends, including the Newswatch editors, and family. The airline people recognised us. Our two children were still small then. The air hostesses took them from us, played with them, and they were asking me if I was feeling better – knowing the trauma one must have been through in the past weeks, and took us straight and right inside the aircraft, even before checking in other passengers. Yet the Babangida men kept saying, even till today, that I fled the country. Can you imagine?"^{[citation needed]}

Giwa's lawyer was also accused of prematurely accusing the government of Dele Giwa's murder thereby truncating the investigation into the case, Newswatch Magazine in an edition of 5 November 1986 disowned Fawehimni.^[27]

The subsequent court cases instituted by Fawehinmi against the government to enable him try the case as a private prosecutor after the Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi had refused to prosecute based on the evidence available were mostly unsuccessful. An excerpt of the Judgement by the then Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Candido Johnson reads thus "...Even if one considers the reasonableness of time, I would say that the incident that gave birth to the death of the late Dele Giwa is not only unique in its form but also complex and would require sufficient time to conduct detailed and balanced investigation, a report on which the appropriate authority would reasonably act. The timing here appears hasty and premature. It appears impulsive without giving reasonable time and chance for a detailed and balanced investigation into this sordid incident. In the circumstances and having regard to the review made above, it is my ruling that this (ex-parte) application is misconceived and it is therefore dismissed. Leave to apply for mandamus is hereby refused."^[27]

Fawehinmi went on to the Supreme Court and got a favourable judgement which enabled him go back to the Lagos State High Court, this judgement also mandated the Justice Candido to recuse himself from the case and appoint another judge to hear the case. On 23 February 1988, Justice Longe ruled that the two security officers, Lt. Col Tunde Togun and Col. Haliru Akilu could not be tried for the murder of Dele Giwa. In his ruling Justice Longe averred among other things that,"...the Attorney general did not oppose the objection raised by counsel to the 'accused' persons, Chief Rotimi Williams, on the ground that the information was filed by private prosecutor (Chief Gani Fawehinmi) when the information had not been completed and especially when the 'INFORMATION IMPLICATED ONE OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES'(Kayode Soyinka)...the proof of evidence before the Court was mere HEARSAY…. Based on the evidence available before the court, it will be an abuse of the process of court to call the two security chiefs for trial. The information is therefore quashed accordingly."^[27] Kayode Soyinka was represented in court by Kayode Sofola SAN, representing the chambers of Kehinde Sofola SAN, that succeeded to getting the court to rule as frivolous the reference to Soyinka being "implicated". The court also ordered that cost be paid Soyinka by the 'accused' persons.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, General Ibrahim Babangida refused to testify before a national human rights commission about the Giwa murder. Babangida, Hakilu and Togun went to court and obtained an order restraining the commission from summoning them to appear before it. The Chairman of the commission commented that the commission had the power to issue arrest warrants for the trio but decided against this "in the over-all interest of national reconciliation".^[28][29]

In 2008 along with other activists such as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Ken Saro Wiwa, the Government of Nigeria named a street in the New Federal Capital Abuja after Dele Giwa.^[30]

JOINT FIRST POSITION SLOT  HAS MR ABDULMUMINI ADEKU

IMMORTALITY: BOGEY FATE DENIES AFRICAN REPORTER 2ND NOBEL PRIZE

EDITORIAL

IMMORTALITY: BOGEY FATE DENIES

 AFRICAN REPORTER 2^ND NOBEL PRIZE

For all of their contributions to the development of each society that they find themselves,it is very strange but very true that no product of excellent journalism has ever won the Nobel Peace Prize for once save for once and it was for a job she did in Human Rights and not even for press in Yemen.

For the second time in his over 15 years career ,The Founder of Paedia Express ,Mr Abdulmumini Adeku has missed out of a possible place in The Nobel Peace Prize, won only once by a Nigerian ,the International Scholar and civil rights activist: Professor Wole Soyinka.

In 2009,after an encounter with the then President of Nigerians Living in Libya,Mr Emmanuel Akpata, Mr Adeku upon an editorial conference with Mr Richard Mammah ,The Editor-In-Chief of the pan African newspapers:The Difference Newspapers both worked together and developed a new feature editorial material titled:Life After Gaddaffi and this was published and circulated by the journal around Africa.

Several months later,just as Mr Adeku had predicted in the report that he authored several months before:Muammar Gaddaffi not only got removed from office but was killed in still somewhat cloudy circumstances by a rebel group that arrested him from his fortress called Bab Al Aziziyah Barracks in Tripoli,Libya as the Arabd springs fever swept him away.

Till this day,Libya is a Theater of was and a land now ruled by war lords and various forms of armed gangs as the central government in place is not really effective ,simply put the Arab Bedouin nation  is now a humanitarian disaster.

Considering, the international dimension of this report and what the global community has lost due to the unrest in Libya till date, it is very strange that this great son of Africa and perhaps other great products of journalism and even people from other profession have not had any shot at this  save for chemists ,physicists ,literary icons ,economists ,politicians, civil right leaders.

For example in the field of Public Relations,if a propagandist helps the Nigerian government to broker a deal with the ferocious Boko Haram,are we going to say that they do not deserve it?

The 2016  Nobel Prize on Physics in which Mr Adeku’s analysis was used to give three British scientists the award shows how effective but good and great journalism can be of effect to the entire world.

Not winning the 2011 and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize is not the end of the world to Mr Adeku and it is not even vital to him that if it will ever be given then he should or must be the recipient but it is vital that robust journalism of cutting edge standard is honoured by the Nobel Prize Judges Committee once in  a while.

Tribute must also be paid to Professor Ibrahim Gambari who as an Under Secretary General at the United Nations was one of the pillars upon which the global body had risen to its win in the past.

Then there was a Professor of Geography from the University of Jos, Dr. Anthony Okon Nyong of the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, has been named a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

The university don who is a member of the United Nations Scientists on Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change,  shared the prize with former American vice president, Al Gore. The announcement came barely 22 years after Professor. Wole Soyinka won the Nobel prize for literature.

…………….. SYNOPSIS OF BIOGRAPHY[SUMMARY}

Mr Abdulmumini Adeku is an international award winning journalist of over 15 years standing, His professional works has fetched him several accolades both at home and abroad.

Mr Adeku is a graduate of General Agriculture from the Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria ,Kaduna state with a minimum specialization in Genetics Engineering.

He has been :News Editor, Investigations Editor, Digital Editor at several Nigerian newspapers among which includes Horizon Express ,The Difference and Financial Standard  Newspapers .

His publications has appeared in Best of Business magazine, Forward Newspapers, New York City and New Diplomat ,a journal on promotion of investment opportunities in the Niger Delta region and read in the diaspora..

He was once on the Editorial staff list of the Business Times Newspaper, The Daily Times Newspapers,Brands and Products magazine, all of whom he worked for as a staff reporter.

He was At The Comet Newspapers where he was the Agricultural page editor aside from stringing for The Guardian Newspapers  as  reporter on its finance desk.

He co- founded Economic News Media Enterprises which published The First Voice and the Business and Economy Newspapers before they were both rested due to funding and board room situations.

The same firm also operated an online  news agency ,an internet radio station:GBN LIVE 2 radio while streaming for a bouquet of stations digitally via skydecoder.

He has attended several seminars, workshops and conferences ;amongst which includes in 2004,The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture [I.I.T.A] and Tuskegee University [U.S.A]Fellowship Program on Biotechnology.

He was the Technical consultant/Business Editor and The Business Development Manager of The Premier tabloid Newspapers ,Lagos,Nigeria between 2011 January till August,2013.

He achieved a milestone in Journalism in 2007 when he was cleared to attempt the Guinness Boook of World Records by producing the largest newspaper in page size  and he hopes to do just that very soon  after stabilizing his newspaper on the vendor stands from being a periodical to a weekly newspapers.

A highly travelled journalist ,Adeku has covered the activities of many organizations such as E.C.O.W.A.S,The Commonwealth of Nations,The World Bank Group,Sickle Cell Society of the U.K.,Lions Club International among others.

He pulled the plug out of a deal to go to Tripoli,Libya in 2012 when the civil war raged after winning a grant to cover activities that eventually led to the overthrow of Libyan leader :Muammar Gaddaffi because his medical insurance benefits could not be assured by the sponsors for the trip

It should have earned him $2,000 daily for reporting as a war correspondent on the invitation of Gaddaffi.

In November,2012,he was in Accra,Ghana to cover the elections for that nations Presidency and the general elections of that nation,in the process he had an internship experience with Ghana World Newss and Reports Newspapers  in Accra ,Ghana under Mr Yaw Mallet ‘s tutelage.

He was a guest of several corporate turks or titans at the Kaneshie Industrial Complex ,Accra ,Ghana at the time.

On March,6^th,2016,he was at the Igolo Village in Republic of Benin to investigate several cases bothering on human trafficking, extortion and migration in the area.

He has stringed for the German News Agency [Deutsche Press Agency/d.p.a]between December 19^th ,2012 to 2^nd April,2013 and again between June to August 2013 as a war correspondent. Dpa had a working relationship and affiliation agreement with the Swiss News Agency, Austria News Agency ,DPA –afx Business News and the European Press Photo News Agencies at the time.

He had worked extensively in breaking news reports on developments in Nigeria especially as it concerned the dreaded :Boko Haram through DPA to a global audience.

As business Editor of The Premier tabloid Newspapers, he edited 8 -10 pages of Business and Economic news per edition.

He also edited columns or pages like millionaires mindset[a personal finance page, motoring and brands and marketing pages.

As Business Development Manager of The Premier Newspapers ,he Was in charge of newsroom operations and other business pursuits of the firm like special projects, advertising, circulation, marketing among others

Upon resignation from the Premier tabloid Newspapers on August 1^st,2013 , he had a stint as Media and Communications consultant to Lashone Links Group of Companies,a real estate and construction firm with over a dozen  subsidiaries.

He also had a stint as General Editor of The  Difference Newspapers ,sold on the vendor stands of at least eight African nations and in places where you have blacks irrespective of nationality globally.

He re-opened his media business under a new name called E.N.M. Paedia Express Multimedia Group on the 2^nd of September,2013.

Paedia Express Multimedia Group is highly respected amongst its peers in the trade at any level worldwide as at today.

Mr Adeku is the recipient of not less than 37 media milestones ranging from awards, nominations and recognitions amongst others for journalistic excellence.

He was media advisor albeit on pro-bo-no to Former Nigerian Head of State ,Major General Muhammadu Buhari when he ran for The Presidency in 2011 elections under the Congress for Progressives Change[C.P.C] banner.

Buhari who was Head of State between 1983 to 1985 was to however win the 2015 elections after three previously unsuccessful attempts at the position with a close shave at the Supreme Court in 2007 against the deceased President Umaru Musa Yar’A dua.

He was the media and editorial consultant that prepared the Business Week Newspapers published by late Mr Bola Onanuga now deceased into the Nigerian market in October,2005.

He helped the firm to raise at least N2.5milion at its maiden fund raising event held at Lagos Airport Hotel with the likes of Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Afe Babalola some of the invited guests.

He is the first man in the history of journalism to do 32 news reports in one day in the history of news agency reporting at any level of the media game worldwide.

 A serial entrepreneur ,Mr Adeku sits on the Board of several blue chips and charities aside from consulting for others now and in the past.

He is a Christian ,single and hails from Ikuehi-Ihima in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State of Nigeria.

He was born on the 25^th of May,1972 in the fishing town of Argungu in Kebbi State to the late Honourable Abdulraheem Adeku and Hajia Halimat Adeku

He is a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists[N.U.J]among several publics he has professional interests or holds membership in.

He loves to read ,report, write ,travel and build relationships aside from other hobbies.

He is the chief promoter of a proposed university project: Titcombe University having finished at Titcombe College ,Egbe  in Kogi state in his formative years.

Titcombe College,Egbe is an Evangelical Church of Winning All   institution[E.C.W.A]

He is still being expected at the prestigious Lagos Business School as a student in an agricultural business post graduate training after winning the latter's grant .

He has been decorated a record 52 times in the media profession with 70 percent of these coming from overseas

Dele Olojede

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dele Olojede
Born	1961 Modakeke, Nigeria
Occupation	Journalist and former foreign editor for Newsday
Nationality	Nigerian
Education	University of Lagos
Alma mater	Columbia University
Notable awards	Pulitzer Prize

Dele Olojede (born 1961 in Modakeke, Nigeria^[1][2]) is a Nigerian journalist and former foreign editor for Newsday. Olojede was the first African-born winner of the Pulitzer Prize and he is a patron of the Etisalat Prize for Literature.^[3]

Contents

• 1 Biography
• 2 Newsday
• 3 Back to Africa
• 4 Awards
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Biography

Olojede was born the eleventh of 28 children. In 1982, he began his journalism career at the National Concord in Lagos, a newspaper owned by aspiring political figure Moshood Abiola. Olojede left the paper in 1984 after he became concerned that Abiola was using the paper to advance his personal political ambitions.^[4]

Olojede enrolled at the University of Lagos where he studied journalism. As a student he was particularly influenced by Nigerian literary luminaries like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Cyprian Ekwensi and other African writers like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.^[2]

Olojede became one of the founding staff writers of a Nigerian news magazine called Newswatch in 1984. The magazine was edited by Dele Giwa, a well-known Nigerian journalist who was killed by a mail bomb on 19 October 1986. Olojede publicly accused Nigeria's military leader Ibrahim Babangida of being responsible for the murder. In 2001, eight years after leaving power, Babangida refused to testify before a human rights court about the murder.^[4]

A 1986 investigative report on the imprisonment of the popular Nigerian musician Fela Kuti led to Kuti's release and the dismissal of the judge who imprisoned him. In 1987, Olojede's efforts earned him a US$26,000 Ford Foundation Scholars grant which Olojede used to get a master's degree at Columbia University. At Columbia he won the Henry N. Taylor Award for outstanding foreign student.^[1] Olojede eventually became a US-Nigeria dual citizen.^[5]

Newsday

On 6 June 1988, Olojede joined Newsday, the Long Island-based newspaper, as a summer intern. He eventually became a special writer covering minority affairs. In 1992 he began work on loan to the paper's foreign desk, making several trips to South Africa. He became the paper's United Nations bureau chief and then an Africa correspondent, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Olojede later worked as a correspondent in China, then returned to Long Island where he became foreign editor of Newsday. In 2003, Olojede took an opportunity to return to Africa as a correspondent to write about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, ten years later.^[5]

In April 1994, when the genocide broke out in Rwanda, Olojede was covering the South African general elections, the first free elections at the end of apartheid. Olojede has said that while the South Africa story was important, he has often wondered if he could have helped the situation in Rwanda if he had gone there instead.^[6][7]

Olojede's 2004 series on the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide was well received. One story that drew particular attention was "Genocide's Child" about a mother who was raising a son conceived during a gang rape during the war.^[6]

In 2005, Olojede won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his "fresh, haunting look at Rwanda a decade after rape and genocidal slaughter had ravaged the Tutsi tribe." The series was viewed as a major accomplishment for black journalists. Olojede was assisted by African American photographer J. Conrad Williams, and much of the series was edited by Lonnie Isabel, another African American journalist who was the assistant managing editor for national and foreign coverage.^[5]

By the time he won the Pulitzer, Olojede had already left Newsday. The Tribune Company had purchased Newsday from its previous owners in 2000, and by 2004 were trying to trim costs. At the end of 2004, Newsday offered a round of buyouts. On 10 December 2004, Olojede took the buyout and moved to Johannesburg, where he was living when he learned he had won the Pulitzer.^[5]

Back to Africa

As of 2006, Olojede was living in Johannesburg with his wife and two daughters Oyinkan and Ngozi. In November 2006, the East African Standard reported that Olojede was hoping to launch a daily newspaper that would be distributed across the entire African continent.^[2]

Returning to Nigeria, Olojede launched 234Next in 2008, first on Twitter and then in print. Hiring 55 new journalists fresh out of college and working out of a diesel-powered 24-hour newsroom, NEXT worked to expose government corruption in the face of much resistance.^[8] Most famously, NEXT scooped the story that the president, President Yar'Adua was secretly brain dead and not "returning soon from a Saudi hospital" as promised.^[9] While this story resulted in the elevation of Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency, other stories such as the revelation that the Oil Minister Rilwanu Lukman was still in the oil business and involved in massive bribery were utterly ignored by officials.^[10]

In 2011, Dele Olojede won the John P. McNulty Prize,^[11] which was established to reward the most innovative projects driving social change created by Fellows of the Aspen Institute.^[12] The Prize was awarded for Olojede's vision and efforts in creating NEXT in Nigeria.^[13]

Under Olojede, NEXT paid its journalists a living wage, opposing the usual local practice of politicians paying journalists and expecting only favourable coverage in return. It scooped many stories of public interest, but found that advertisers would no longer support it. When it collapsed in 2011, it owed its staff more than five months' wages.^[14]

Awards

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Olojede has won several journalism awards.^[1]

• 1995 Publisher's Award from Newsday
• 1995 Educational Press of America Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism
• 1992 Unity Award from Lincoln University
• 1992 Media Award from the Press Club of Long Island

Anas Aremeyaw Anas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anas Aremeyaw Anas
Anas at Oslo Freedom Forum
Born	Accra, Ghana
Education	University of Ghana
Occupation	Investigative journalist The Crusading Guide newspaper (1998–present) CEO of Tiger Eye Private Investigations Executive Director of Tiger Eye Social Foundation (2011–present)
Years active	1998–present
Notable credit(s)	Al Jazeera, Africa Investigates
Website	www.anasaremeyawanas.org

Anas Aremeyaw Anas is a Ghanaian investigative journalist born in the late 1970s.^[1] Anas's motto is "name, shame and jail" and he is famous for utilizing his anonymity as a tool in his investigative arsenal; very few people had seen his face until "unmasking" during a BBC interview in November 2015 — however, that too turned out to be a clever prosthetic.^[2][3] A politically non-aligned multimedia journalist who specializes in print media and documentary, Anas focuses on issues of human rights and anti-corruption in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.

Anas has won critical acclaim for his work advocating for basic human rights such as the right to not be held in human slavery or servitude and for his work exposing corruption. His investigative works have won him worldwide acclaim, including President Barack Obama highlighting his virtues in a speech during a 2009 visit to Ghana: "An independent press. A vibrant private sector. A civil society. Those are the things that give life to democracy. [...] We see that spirit in courageous journalists like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who risked his life to report the truth."^[4] Anas has won more than 17 international awards for his investigative work. He was polled as the fifth most influential Ghanaian in 2011 by e.tv Ghana.^[5] and named one of the "Most Influential Africans of the Year" by New African magazine.^[6] in December 2014. Chameleon by Ryan Mullins, a documentary about Anas's life and work, was premiered at the 2014 IDFA festival in Amsterdam.^[7] In December 2015 Foreign Policy magazine named Anas one of 2015's leading global thinkers, an honour previously granted to the likes of Barack Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Pope Benedict XVI, and Malala Yousafzai.^[8] In March 2016, Anas was invited by Harvard Law School as a keynote speaker to share his experiences as an international undercover journalist creating change on the continent of Africa in 2016. He is consistently invited to talk on his work at gatherings all around the world. In the period from October to December 2016, Anas made his first foray into public life, outside of the world of investigative journalism, as a powerful advocate for peace in his "Anas4Peace" multimedia campaign.^[9] These films, jingles and interactive social media posts brought together 22 of the most powerful non-alinged Ghanaian celebrities to advocate for peace during the election period.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Notable investigative works
• 3 Awards and recognition
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Early life

Anas grew up in a military barracks in Ghana.^[1] He attended the University of Ghana. After university he turned down an opportunity to work as a reporter for the Ghanaian Times newspaper, instead choosing to join the Crusading Guide newspaper in 1998. The editor of the newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr, had just been released from jail in the same year.

Notable investigative works

1. The Burger Story (1999): This was the first undercover work by Anas. He worked as a street hawker to expose police officers who took bribes from unlicensed traders on a major highway in Accra.

2. Torture on The High Seas (July 2003): Anas went undercover aboard a shipping vessel of Afko fisheries to expose the maltreatment of Ghanaian workers by a Korean employer.

3. Bole Rebel Raid (April 2005): An investigative story which exposed how Ivorian rebels invaded Ghanaian territories in 2005, made incursions into some northern communities, and subjected the inhabitants to constant torture and abuse.

In this story Anas went undercover at "Saru" and "Walata" among other villages where Ivorian rebels had invaded and captured the chief of Saru and some of his elders. As part of the investigation, Anas went as 'Prince of Walata' and managed to meet the rebel leader. He got information about the rebels' camp and operations.

After the story was reported, the government of John Kufuor took steps to address the lack of security in the affected communities. This led to the release of the chief and his elders. The government provided adequate security for the affected Ghanaian communities and secured the borders.

4. Eurofood Scandal (13 June 2006): An investigation by Anas in which he went undercover as menial worker at Eurofood, a biscuit and confectionery factory in Ghana. Eurofood was using expired and maggot-infested flour to produce biscuits for public consumption in Ghana and other parts of Africa.

5. Torture Chamber OF BANGKOK PRISONS (2006): An Anas undercover investigation where he travelled to Thailand to infiltrate its prisons as a Catholic Priest. He interviewed some Ghanaian and West African prisoners about the maltreatment and deaths of foreign prisoners in jail. He thereby exposed the abuse of Ghanaians and other expatriate prisoners in Thai prisons.

As a result of Anas' work, the government of Ghana successfully negotiated (with the government of Thailand) the transfer of all convicted Ghanaians prisoners in Thailand to Ghana.

6. Soja Bar Prostitution (September 2007): An investigation into one of the largest brothels in Ghana at the time. Anas went undercover by posing as a cleaner. He exposed how some teenagers were forced into prostitution.

He also exposed Soja Bar as a place for hardened criminals and the exploitation of women. Soja Bar was later demolished by Ghanaian authorities and some of the under-aged prostitutes were taken in by Ghana's Social Welfare.

7. Passport Scandal (April 2006): Posing as a rich businessman, Anas worked to expose officials within Ghana's passport office who provided Ghanaian passports to non-citizens for a fee. He made hundreds of passports using fake identities. Passports were done in the name of the then President, the Inspector General of Police and other high political and national characters to prove the system was corrupt. This led to the fast track introduction of biometric passport for Ghanaians.

8. Humans for Sale: DONS EXPOSED (2008): This was an investigation Anas carried out over an eight-month period. It spanned over five countries in West Africa and Europe. He worked to penetrate an international trafficking ring, gathered evidence to prosecute a political figure, rescued 17 girls about to be trafficked, exposed corrupt immigration officials, and stood as a witness in the trial.

9. Imam's School of Shock (August 2008): This is a story of a slave master who trafficked and abused 15 kids in Ghana and Togo using an Islamic school as a bait. He recruited these young victims into a life of begging and amassed significant wealth from their sweat and toil. Anas gathered evidence about these inhumane acts through the use of a hidden camera. This led to the arrest of the slave master.

January 2010

Inside Ghana’s Madhouse Undercover in Ghana’s biggest psychiatric hospital Anas exposed patient’s human rights abuses.^[10]

April 2010

In The Interest Of The State Exposed cocoa smugglers and their cohorts in Ghana’s security system^[11]

September 2010

Orphans Home Of Hell – Osu Undercover in Ghana’s biggest state run orphanage. Exposed corruption and abuse of children in the facility^[12]

February 2011

Enemies Of The Nation Undercover to expose fraud and corruption at one of Ghana’s key points of entry, the Tema harbor.^[13]

December 2011

Al Jazeera Africa Investigates (Four films) a. Sierra Leone – Timber^[14] b. Ghana’s Gold^[15] c. Fools’ Gold^[16] d. Spell of the Albino -Tanzania^[17]

January 2012

The Prez’s Assignment - Stealing the People’s Power A three-phase investigation into the power distribution sector in Ghana. Exposed acts of corruption on the part of employees of power distribution company ECG (electricity company of Ghana) and indebtedness on the part of individuals and companies^[18]

June 2012

Dons Of The Forest A follow-up to "In The Interest of The State" operation to busted a ring of people who diverted and sold fertilizers meant for the cocoa farmer.

July 2012

Deadly Gold An investigation into the negative effects of illegal gold mining in Ghana.

September 2012

Wild Ghana Project A look at how gullible and vulnerable customers can be exploited, featuring the "Abortion Lord" who had sex with his female clients when they came to him for abortions.^[19]

January 2013

Al Jazeera -People and Power How To Rob Africa This was a film on how African businesses fleece their governments and stash these stolen funds in off-shore accounts. With journalist Stanley Kwenda.^[20]

Spirit Child Filmed in Northern Ghana, where Anas exposed the barbaric sacrifices of children who were believed to bring ill luck to their families. The story led to the arrest of some fetish priests, with Anas advocating for the prosecution of such persons.^[21]

May 2013

The Messiah of Mentukwa The story of how one woman Helen Jesus Christ, set up a church in a remote village in Ghana’s hinterland and convinced members that Jesus Christ was coming soon and they could only be saved if they cut themselves off the rest of the world. With that came physical abuse and children being denied access to school.^[22]

April 2014

Ghana Sex Mafia Film built on the Chinese Sex Mafia story of February 2009. Tells the story of how Chinese girls were trafficked into Ghana and how Anas went undercover to bust the ring and testified in court leading to the prosecution of the traffickers

Ghana's Soul Takers This was a three part investigative documentary that was centered on road safety. The first part looked at driver licensing and the corruption and fraud it is fraught with.

The second installment entitled 'Doom - the silent killer next door, tells three social interest stories of how families lost loved ones to the carnage on our roads. it also highlighted some of the dangers associated with commercial transport.

The third part examines police corruption and the tacit contribution of Ghana's traffic police (the Motor Traffic and Transport Department, MTTD) of the Police Service.^[23]

December 2014

AL Jazeera Africa Investigates _ Season 2 Nigeria’s Fake Doctors Anas teamed up with colleague Rosemary Nwaebuni to blow the lid off the activities of quack doctors who are risking the lives of vulnerable people in Africa's most populous nation. The film led to the arrest of two such bogus medics who were using pharmacy shops and even beer parlours as operating theaters for persons who were in desperate need of medical attention. It presents persons who have no medical qualification or knowledge whatsoever placing women in need of abortion under the knife with the resultant fatal injuries.^[24]

Ghana’s Food For Thought Focuses on the problem of stealing and corruption in the process of getting donated food to the starving to whom it is destined. Anas went undercover to expose the activities of the Ghana Health Service officers who ran a corrupt business by commercially selling specialized foods donated by the World Food Program (WFP) and destined free-of-charge to malnourished children in the north. It resulted in the dramatic arrest of three persons. All the suspects captured in the act of committing this crime are currently in police custody. ^[25]

September 2015

Ghana judiciary scandal On 23 September 2015 Anas premiered, in four showings, in front of a record-breaking audience of more than 6500 people, at the Accra International Conference Center,^[26] his new – and perhaps most significant to date – undercover film Ghana In The Eyes Of God. It exposed the widespread corruption within the judiciary and graphically showed court workers like clerks and bailiffs connive with a number of respected judges to influence court cases through bribes. 34 judges and magistrates were caught on a hidden camera receiving enticements of money, goats, sheep and even foodstuff. As a result, presumed robbers, murderers, drug traffickers, rapists and litigants in land cases went free. The film effectively created a deep and destabilizing crises of conscience in Ghanaian society. A disciplinary committee of the Judicial Council was set up to probing the allegations of bribery and extortion against the thirty-four judges and magistrates. At one point it had to have suspended its sittings following a suit by 14 Circuit Court judges at the Fast Track High Court challenging the legality or otherwise of the procedure adopted by the committee to investigate the matter.

More than 100 members of staff of the Judicial Service were then investigated after Anas submitted a petition and videos showing the affected staff receiving bribes to compromise cases. Anas has asked for the dismissal of the affected persons and as a result, the Judicial Council has begun investigations into the matter once again. The affected judges have since been suspended. Anas was given protection from prosecution but the situation remains tense.^[27][28] The effect of his documentary film was heightened by a number of pop songs,^[29][30][31] cartoons ^[32] and other public shows of support. An in-depth article in ^[33] The Guardian on 24 September. On 7 December The Council unanimously decided to remove from office 20 out of the 21 Judges and Magistrates cited in the petition. Some were removed from office without benefits and others with benefits. Those removed with benefits were remorseful when they appeared before the Committee and apologized profusely to the people of Ghana and the Judiciary for bringing the name of the institution into disrepute by their conduct.^[34] The Council, where Anas is personally presenting the evidence, resumed sitting mid-January 2016 to continue probing into the rest of the cases.

December 2015

Nigeria's Baby Farmers

In this deeply disturbing episode of Africa Investigates, Ghana's undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and investigative reporter Rosemary Nwaebuni teamed up to identify and expose some of those behind Nigeria's heart-breaking baby trade.

It is a scam that exploits couples desperate for a baby and young pregnant single mothers — often stigmatised in a country where abortion is illegal except in the most dire medical emergency. It is also a trade that international NGOs have identified as sinister and out of control.

Filming undercover, the team found bogus doctors and clinics offering spurious fertility treatments in return for large amounts of money. In their guise as a childless couple, Anas and Rosemary were falsely diagnosed by one dodgy clinician as being unable to conceive children.^[35]

Awards and recognition

In 2008, Anas was awarded the Heroes Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery Award by the US Department of State for his contribution to the elimination of human trafficking.^[36] and also in the same year the Every Human Has Rights Award from France.

In 2009 he was awarded a certificate and cash for excellent work along with five other distinguished journalists from Africa during the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist Awards.^[4][37] and the Grand Norbert Zongo Prize in Investigative journalism as well as the Segbo Excellence in Investigative Journalism Award ^[38]

In 2010 he was awarded the 2nd Prize of FAIR Investigative Journalism Awards by the Forum for African Investigative Reporters and The Ghanaian Journalist Association awarded him the best in anti-corruption reporting. The Association awarded him Best Investigative Reporter in 2008 and 2006 and honoured him as Journalist of the Year in 2006.^[4] Also in 2010 he was awarded the Global Health Council Award.^[39]

In 2011 he was awarded the Lorenzo Natali Prize (2nd Prize for Africa) by the European Commission Directorate- General for Development^[40] and the KCK Award for excellence in Print Journalism from India,^[41]

In 2013 he was awarded the 'Africa Achievers Award', Kenya.

In 2014 he was awarded the "Engaged Journalism Award ’" by the May Chidiac Foundation. Lebanon ^[42]

In 2015 he was honored by Foreign Policy as one of 2015's leading global thinkers.^[8]

In June 2016, Anas was announced as the keynote speaker at the 4th Annual African Youth Excellence Awards in The USA.^[43] and was awarded the Honorary Award for Excellence in Journalism. He had the honor of being presented with the key to the city of Worcester, Massachusetts by the Mayor.

On 27 August 2016 Anas once again won the Journalist of the Year Award from the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA in Ghana.^[44]

On 24 October 2016 Anas had an award named after him by the Press Foundation in Ghana. The founder of the press foundation Mr Listowel Yesu Bukarson said "this award was named after the world renowned investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas to aid journalists climb to the highest apogee in their chosen profession .