AN INVESTIGATIVE report by Nigeria’s Abuja-based online newspaper, National Record, was among the entries honored at the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards, WAMECA, 2025 held in Accra, Ghana.
The two-part investigative report; “INVESTIGATION: Dangote, In Quest for Cheap Energy, Pumps Poison into Benue Rivers Part 1 and 2” by Adedokun Theophilus was nominated among 26 finalists for the award ceremony emerged winners under the Extractive Industry category.
The report was done with funding support from the MacArthur Foundation through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, WSCIJ, under the programme, “Collaborative Media Engagement for Development, Inclusivity and Accountability, CMEDIA”.
The report unraveled how a subsidiary of Dangote Group, Dangote Coal Mines Ltd.’s quest for cheap energy comes at a deadly price to several communities in Okpokwu LGA of Benue State. National Record, a publication of Contest Communications Limited, is a member of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
The award-winning investigation exposes how Dangote coal mining exploration has indiscriminately polluted several rivers in both the immediate host community as well as several other communities, poisoning the residents who had no other sources of potable water.
The Media Foundation for West Africa described the report as a courageous investigation that uncovers the human cost of pollution and gives a voice to those who are being silenced.
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Renee Mendy, one of the grand jury members, said: “What makes this article stand out is how it connects people’s lives with the environmental and the health damage caused by Dangote’s coal mines.
It is powerful because it is not just about pollution but about the families living through it. “The journalist did strong field work talking to residents, experts and even local authorities and he even backed it up with laboratory tests that give the story real credibility.
The piece could be a bit shorter and visually more attractive, maybe with clear pictures or infographics but overall, it is an impressive and impactful investigation that really shows the power of journalism to inform and to push for change.
In a statement earlier, MFWA said it received 793 entries this year, submitted by journalists from over 600 media outlets across 15 West African countries.
It said Nigeria emerged as the country with the highest number of submissions ‘335 entries’, comprising 42% of the total. Ghana followed with 101 entries, while Burkina Faso submitted 92 entries. 21 entries were received from Mali, while Niger recorded 4 entries.
The remaining 10 countries in the sub-region recorded a total of 230 entries. “This overwhelming response marks a strong return for West Africa’s biggest and most prestigious journalism event after a break in 2024. The call for entries, which opened on April 15, invited submissions of journalistic works published between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
Entries were received across nine award categories, including Human Rights Reporting, Environmental Reporting, Investigative Journalism, Women Empowerment Reporting, and Digital Public Infrastructure/Digital Public Goods Reporting. Others include Anti-Corruption, Extractive sector, Telecoms & ICT, and Illicit Financial Flows.”
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