The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism has postponed the presentation of the award to Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
According to a statement signed by Motunrayo Alaka, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre, the decision was reached following the rearrest of Omoleye Sowore, Publisher of SaharaReporters, on Friday, by operatives of the Department of State Services.
Alaka said, “The postponement was decided on, to align with protests against the repression of freedom of speech in recent times especially the incident between the Department of State Security (DSS) and Omoleye Sowore, Publisher of Sahara Reporters, on Friday 6 December. The Vice President himself shares this awareness and the inappropriateness of the award at this point.”
The WSCIJ holds the award presentation event on December 9, the World Anti-Corruption Day and eve of the World Human Rights Day to highlight the importance of investigative reporting as a tool for accountability, good governance and social justice in a democracy.
WSCIJ had earlier announced that it would present an ‘Integrity speciality of the anti-corruption defender award’ to the vice-president for his “invaluable work of overhauling the Lagos State Judiciary, facilitating far-reaching reforms in the administration of justice in the state, his work of promoting integrity in the civil society and business in Nigeria and his consistency as a strong voice for promoting integrity in the country.”