A REPORT funded by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) has won the 2025 African Media Development Foundation (AMDF) Journalist of the Year Award.
The investigative report won the award’s Online Category.
The author of the winning report, Hamzat Ibrahim Abaga, a freelance investigative journalist, was shortlisted among seven finalists and clinched the online category award for his August 2025 investigation titled “Sex for Food: Hunger Fuels Exploitation of Female IDPs in Niger State.”
Abaga, along with other award recipients, was honoured at the 2025 Africa Conference on Development Journalism (ACDJ), held from December 3–4 in Kaduna State.
The Executive Director of AMDF, Sekyen Dadik, said that the organisation introduced the Journalist of the Year Award in 2016 to recognise excellence in development journalism across Africa in photo, online, print, television, and radio categories.
According to AMDF, the 2025 Online Category award was “presented to Hamzat Ibrahim Abaga, in recognition of his outstanding story in the online category.
Abaga’s investigation exposed sexual exploitation of female internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Niger State, where some camp officials allegedly used food aid as leverage for sexual favours.
One young woman, Gambo, who spent four years in Kuta IDP camp, became a victim. She and her family eventually returned to their community in Shiroro Local Government Area despite ongoing bandit attacks.
Severe hunger and a lack of aid compounded her vulnerability, ultimately resulting in an unplanned pregnancy and the cancellation of her planned marriage. Other displaced women reported similar experiences, describing warnings about camp officials making sexual advances and accounts of direct pressure to comply with demands in order to receive food.
Some were removed from beneficiary lists when they refused, while long-term residents highlighted the persistent scarcity of food and basic necessities, leaving families struggling to survive.
The Niger State Government confirmed it was aware of the incidents and said investigations were ongoing.
Relevant ministries and human rights organisations are involved, and authorities emphasised continued support for IDPs through the distribution of food, blankets, and educational materials, despite logistical and funding challenges.
This latest award adds to the list of awards the ICIR funded stories have won in 2025.
The ICIR reported that a former staff of the ICIR, Ijeoma Opara was named first runner-up at the 34th Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) on November 27 for her reporting on illegal mining in Nasarawa State.
The report, “Chinese Illegal Miners Deprive Government of Revenue, Exploit Child Labour in Nasarawa,” was nominated in the Solid Minerals Development Reporting category.
Similarly, Alfred Ajayi’s report, supported by International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), won the Best Solutions Journalism Reporting category at the 2025 Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) Excellence in Journalism Awards.
The report done under the Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK 2) project, spotlighted the positive impacts of the free Antenatal (ANC) and delivery programme of the Anambra State Government.
Another ICIR’s report, titled, “Airstrike cover-up: Katsina government helped Nigerian Air Force conceal civilian deaths,” has been shortlisted for Fetisov Journalism Award.
The investigation, done by The ICIR’s senior investigative reporter, Nurudeen Akewushola, was shortlisted in the category of Outstanding Contribution to Peace.
Akewushola’s reporting revealed that on November 20, 2024, an airstrike in Shawu village, Ruwan Godiya district, Faskari Local Government killed at least five unarmed civilians, including women and children, and injured 19 others.
Despite claims by the Katsina State Government and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) that the operation targeted terrorists, Akewushola’s investigation showed the area had been evacuated by the armed groups before the attack, leaving innocent villagers as the primary victims.
Through field reporting, interviews, Akewushola documented consequences for families like that of Isah and his heavily pregnant wife, Hafsat, who lost their unborn child and faced crippling medical expenses. Other victims included eight-year-old Maryam Mukhtar and her mother, Abasyya, whose deaths left relatives grappling with profound loss.
The investigation also highlighted the government’s attempts to mislead the public, with the report exposing a systematic cover-up.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.