Four Nigerians have won the 2026 Nigeria Prizes sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), with awards recognising work in poetry, documentary filmmaking and artificial intelligence for medical imaging.
Poet and lawyer Ogaga Ifowodo won the Nigeria Prize for Literature for Why Does God Need a Gun?, while filmmakers Peter Oghenetega Oke and Feranmi Abiola shared the inaugural Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts for their documentaries, Beyond Tarkwa Bay and Mara Mania, respectively.
Mary-Brenda Akoda won the Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation for GenScan AI, an artificial intelligence solution designed to accelerate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The winners were celebrated at a grand award night at the Convention Centre of Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on October 9, 2026.
The 2026 Nigeria Prizes ceremony brought together personalities from politics, literature, business, science and entertainment. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka were among the eminent personalities in attendance.
Actress and television presenter Nancy Isime and actor Joseph Benjamin hosted the event, which also featured a music performance by Waje, comedy by Buchi and a presentation of The Cardinal Highlife Musical, created and produced by Yibo Koko.
The programme combined the presentation of the awards with music, comedy and theatrical performance, celebrating achievements across the three prize categories.
How Ifowodo won the literature prize
Ifowodo emerged winner from 223 entries submitted for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature, which focused on poetry.
His collection, Why Does God Need a Gun, was selected from a shortlist of three works. The other finalists were James Ngwu Eze, author of Unbind Me Now, and Tares Oburumu, whose collection is titled Flora’s Love Colony.
The winning collection examines religious and political violence in Nigeria. Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, chairman of the advisory board for the Nigeria Prize for Literature, described it as a sensitive portrayal of religious and political violence told through the voice of an imagined victim.
Ifowodo, a lawyer, poet, writer and activist, has published other collections, including Homeland and Other Poems, Madiba and The Oil Lamp.
His collection A Good Mourning was shortlisted for the prize in 2017, when Ikeogu Oke won with The Heresiad.
At the 2026 Grand Award Night, Ifowodo received the $100,000 literature prize.
Two filmmakers share new creative arts prize
The 2026 edition introduced the Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, with documentary filmmaking selected as the first focus under the theme of identity.
The competition attracted 98 submissions from young Nigerian creatives. The entries were narrowed to 11 nominees before five documentaries made the final shortlist.
Oke won for Beyond Tarkwa Bay, while Abiola won with Mara Mania. They shared the $20,000 prize.
The other shortlisted films were No Food for Lazy Man by Ummi Bukar, Okrika by Abraham Ayodele Aiwuyuse and Women of Salt: The Resilience of Ebonyi’s Women by Jessica Chinyere.
The new award recognises creative works by young Nigerian filmmakers and artists, particularly stories exploring the country’s people, communities, cultures and identity.
The introduction of the category expands the Nigeria Prizes beyond their established focus on literature and science to include documentary filmmaking.
Akoda wins science prize with GenScan AI
Akoda was named the 2026 winner of the Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation in September for GenScan AI, which comprises GenMRI and C-MORE.
The technology uses artificial intelligence to accelerate MRI processes. The science prize carries a $100,000 award and recognises innovations with the potential to address practical challenges.
Akoda became the prize’s first Generation Z recipient and the first woman to win as an individual awardee.
Her victory followed a year in which the science prize had no winner in 2025. Her work in medical imaging was also recognised at the October Grand Award Night alongside the literature and creative arts winners.
