As part of its efforts to strengthen journalism through innovation and technology, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR) on Wednesday, October 29, held a sensitisation meeting for media professionals on the use of its new tool – NativeAI for newsrooms.
The tool is an indigenous artificial intelligence tool that supports transcription, translation, and accessibility in storytelling.
The meeting, held in Abuja, brought together journalists, editors, and media technologists to familiarise them with the product — a continuation of The ICIR’s commitment to helping journalists adapt to the changing digital landscape and enhance newsroom productivity.
Developed by The ICIR and unveiled in September at a webinar, the product is designed to help journalists and content creators transcribe audiovisual files, translate them into Nigeria’s major languages, and make media content more inclusive for diverse and hearing-impaired audiences.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of The ICIR, Dayo Aiyetan, noted that the organisation recognised the growing intersection between journalism and technology and the need for practitioners to embrace digital tools that make their work faster and more efficient.
“We invited not just journalists but also tech people from the media because journalism today is driven by technology “Native AI transcribes audiovisual files and translates them into Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. Eventually, we hope to cover more Nigerian languages,” he said.
Aiyetan explained that the tool emerged due to the challenges journalists face when manually transcribing lengthy interviews and translating local language recordings.
“At The ICIR, and even at our verification platform, The FactCheckHub, we had to pay people for translations. We thought why not build a tool that simplifies the work of journalists, researchers, and students by transcribing a one-hour video in just minutes?” Aiyetan stated.
Beyond streamlining newsroom tasks, Aiyetan said the tool also reflects The ICIR’s dedication to inclusion and accessibility. NativeAI was designed with the hearing-impaired community in mind, allowing users to upload audio files and have them transcribed or translated into text, he stated.
The programmes manager at The ICIR, Eunice Enoch, also described NativeAI as an indigenous innovation developed to make newsroom work more efficient.
She noted that the tool was designed to transcribe English audiovisual content, helping reporters save the long hours typically spent typing interviews manually.
“From the name itself — NativeAI — you can tell it’s something indigenous, something that is your own. It’s an AI-powered transcription tool developed by The ICIR to support journalists in their day-to-day newsroom workflows.
“Like most of you, The ICIR is a media organisation. We go to the field to conduct interviews and return to the newsroom to transcribe those conversations. After the stress of fieldwork, you still have to sit down, listen, pause, and type. It’s exhausting, and that was one of the reasons we developed NativeAI — to make that process easier.” Enoch explained.
Sharing a personal experience, she highlighted how tasking transcription could be while noting that NativeAI was developed to save journalists the long hours spent on manual transcription, allowing them to focus on deeper storytelling and investigative work, while also enhancing access to media content across Nigeria’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape.
Senior Programmes Manager, Chukwudi Iwuoha, demonstrated how the platform works, explaining that users could either record directly on the platform or upload audio and video files for transcription and translation.
“When you upload a video, it extracts the audio and transcribes it. You can also upload an audio file or record directly. For now, the model supports English transcription, but translation into the three major Nigerian languages will be integrated soon,” Iwuoha explained.
He also assured participants of data safety, noting that the system runs on Google Cloud and does not retain user data.
“You don’t need to create an account; you simply use the platform and log out. Your data remains secure,” he stated.
Participants described the tool as a timely addition to Nigerian newsrooms. Editor of Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Michael Ogu, said Native AI could drastically reduce newsroom costs and improve turnaround time.
“Imagine spending one or two minutes to transcribe a 50-minute audio that would have taken four hours before; it increases efficiency and allows journalists to focus on storytelling,” he stated.
Assistant Editor at Dubawa, Lois Ugbede, lauded the tool’s ability to bridge Nigeria’s language divide.
“We’ve seen transcription tools before, but none that translates into our local languages. That’s what makes Native AI unique. Any newsroom that wants to evolve and make an impact should adopt it,” she said.
Editor of The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) online, Adeniyi Bakare, opined that the tool would make radio journalism faster and more efficient.
“It helps you extract inserts quickly and reduces the time spent replaying recordings,” he said, adding that “It’s a tool I’ll definitely recommend to my colleagues.”
The Chairman, Abuja Association of the Deaf, Ayoade Beyioku-Alase, commended the organisation for developing NativeAI, describing it as a valuable tool for improving accessibility.
She noted that the tool’s ability to transcribe and translate into major Nigerian languages such as Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa could greatly benefit people with hearing impairments.
Beyioku-Alase encouraged further development of the technology to enable live translation, which, she said, would help deaf individuals follow conversations in real time and enhance inclusivity in communication.
The sensitisation meeting ended with a live demonstration of the platform and a call for journalists to continue embracing technology-driven innovations that enhance storytelling, inclusivity, and efficiency in the newsroom.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org
I am in full support of this initiative.