TheCable’s Jemilat Nasiru, Mansur Ibrahim, Taiwo Adebulu named finalists for WAMECA 2025

Three journalists from TheCable — Jemilat Nasiru, Mansur Ibrahim, and Taiwo Adebulu — have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2025 West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA).

They were shortlisted in the environmental reporting category of the subregion award organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

In June, MFWA said this year’s edition received 793 entries from more than 600 media outlets across 15 West African countries.

Nigeria accounted for the largest share with 335 entries — 42 percent of the total.

Ghana followed with 101 entries, while Burkina Faso submitted 92.

Mali recorded 21 entries, Niger four, while the remaining 10 countries in the bloc accounted for 230.

Other Nigerians shortlisted include Kunle Adebajo and Al’amin Umar of HumAngle; Olayide Soaga of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ); and Ijeoma Opara of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).

Also on the list are Bakare Mojeed and Folashade Ogunrinde of Premium Times; Theophilus Adedokun of National Record; Faruk Shuaibu of Daily Trust; and AbdulRasheed Hammad of Pen Press.

MFWA said submissions cut across nine categories: human rights, environment, investigative journalism, women empowerment, and digital public infrastructure. Others are anti-corruption, extractive sector, telecoms & ICT, and illicit financial flows.

The foundation added that a jury of seasoned editors and media professionals began reviewing the entries in June and unveiled the shortlist in September.

It said the 2025 edition will hold in Accra, Ghana, under the theme “Journalism and Digital Public Infrastructure in Africa”.

The conference will take place on October 9 and 10, while the awards ceremony will close the event on October 11.

According to MFWA, winners across the categories — including the West African Journalist of the Year — will be announced at the awards night.

Since its launch in 2017, MFWA said WAMECA has awarded more than 60 journalists across the region.

Past winners of the top prize include Ghana’s Seth Kwame Boateng, Manasseh Azure Awuni, and Kwetey Nartey; Burkina Faso’s Sama Tounwendsida Hugues Richard; and Nigeria’s Samad Uthman, Tessy Igomu, and Muhamed Akinyemi.