THE International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) has concluded a two-day virtual training for journalists selected to participate in its Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK 2.2) investigative reporting fellowship.
The training, held from September 2 to 3, 2025, brought together journalists from seven states – Anambra, Oyo, Ogun, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, and Nasarawa – where the SPARK project is currently being implemented.
Declaring the workshop open, ICIR’s Executive Director, Dayo Aiyetan, underscored the Centre’s commitment to deepening accountability reporting in Nigeria, noting that investigative journalism remained critical in highlighting governance and development challenges.
Aiyetan thanked the International Budget Partnership (IBP) for supporting the project, noting that while this phase runs for four months, The ICIR’s partnership with IBP was continuous.
He noted that the programme was not just about investigating and exposing corruption but also examining the systemic issues and shortcomings that often led to journalists’ findings on the field.
“Like agricultural inputs not getting to women famers. Is it state government’s policy or federal government’s policy? For example, issues like transportation issues that make thing hard for small holder women farmers or cultural barriers inhibiting women farmers. We need to look at those systemic issues leading to negative outcomes that we find,” he said.
He added that the issues were not only about how policies affect women but also agelong imbalances in some government policies which make it hard for women to access government’s support.
Also speaking at the training, The ICIR Senior Programmes Officer, Chukwudi Iwuoha, said the initiative sought to equip reporters with the skills to investigate and highlight governance lapses affecting women and children in marginalised communities.
He explained that the fellowship would concentrate on two areas in each focus states.
On healthcare, Iwuoha said journalists were expected to assess the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and the Midwives Service Scheme, while exposing systemic, political, and infrastructural barriers limiting service delivery in rural areas.
In agriculture, he noted that the project would examine the struggles of smallholder women farmers, including poor access to credit, inputs and extension services, as well as cultural and gender-related obstacles.
“Journalists will undertake fieldwork to document real-life experiences, generate data, and tell compelling stories that not only expose problems but also highlight solutions,” Owuaha stated.
According to him, expected outcomes of the fellowship include increased public awareness of systemic failures, promotion of best practices, stronger accountability in policy implementation, and amplified voices of women and marginalised groups.
Participants at the training were taken through practical sessions covering key aspects of investigative journalism.
Day one featured sessions on the fundamentals of investigative reporting, fact-checking, gender-sensitive reporting, multimedia storytelling, and working with documents.
Facilitators included The ICIR Editor, Victoria Bamas, Programme Director at Daily Trust Foundation, Theophilus Abbah, and IBP representatives, with sessions designed to equip fellows with technical skills to strengthen the quality and impact of their reports.
Day two of the workshop built on what was done on the first day, focusing on sourcing information, advanced multimedia techniques, interviewing methods, and critical conversations around journalists’ safety and professional ethics.
The training ended with a charge to participants to apply the skills gained in producing data-driven, people-centred stories that not only expose systemic barriers but also drive accountability in governance.
The SPARK 2.2 fellowship, supported by the International Budget Partnership, is part of ICIR’s long-term efforts to build a network of investigative journalists dedicated to addressing pressing governance challenges in Nigeria.
The initiative, which began with SPARK 1 and later advanced to SPARK 2, is now in its second phase of implementation under SPARK 2.2, expanding its focus and deepening its impact on governance and accountability reporting in Nigeria.
Under the maternal healthcare component, participating journalists will investigate systemic barriers limiting access to services, as well as gaps in the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) despite continued government investment.
In agriculture, the fellowship will examine the struggles of smallholder women farmers (SHWFs), including limited access to credit and farming inputs, income constraints, and gender-based challenges that affect their productivity and economic empowerment.
The project will adopt a systems-level, gender-sensitive approach to uncover the root causes of these challenges and produce data-driven reports that drive accountability.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.