Recently updated on July 25th, 2020 at 12:06 am
Dapo Olorunyomi has been honored alongside four others with the 2020 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Dapo Olorunyomi is the co-founder, CEO, and publisher of the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times, which today is one of the most trusted newspapers in Nigeria and a standard for African investigative journalism.
Dapo Olorunyomi has dedicated his life to holding the powerful to account and is a fierce advocate for press freedom.
Dapo Olorunyomi worked as an editor at other Nigerian media outlets, including PM News, which he helped co-found; Radio Nigeria; The African Guardian magazine; and NEXT newspapers. In 2005, he founded the Lagos-based Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, named after Africa’s first Nobel laureate in literature and dedicated to exposing corruption and human rights abuses. He also co-founded the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, a partner organization to the newspaper, which has its own press freedom tracker.
Dapo Olorunyomi serves on the advisory boards of nonprofit organizations Africa Check and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism.
Other winners include:
Shahidul Alam
Renowned Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam was detained by police in August 2018, just hours after he was interviewed on Al-Jazeera and posted a video on Facebook about student protests in the country. In November 2018, he was freed on bail after 102 days in detention.
Mohammad Mosaed, Iran
Mosaed is a freelance journalist who has investigated corruption and labor issues for several reformist media. In 2019, he was arrested after he posted to Twitter during an internet shutdown. He was released, but detained again after criticizing the government’s unprepared response to COVID-19. His Tw
Svetlana Prokopyeva, Russia
Prokopyeva is a regional correspondent for the U.S. Congress-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Russia, known as Radio Svoboda. In July, she was convicted on terrorism charges in relation to a radio show in which she discussed a suicide bombing.
Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award Winner: Amal Clooney
Amal Clooney specializes in public international law, international criminal law, and human rights. A strong advocate for press freedom, she has served as international counsel for several journalists under threat. She is currently representing Maria Ressa, CPJ’s 2018 Gwen Ifill award winner, who has been convicted of cyber libel, a criminal offense, in the Philippines.
CPJ’s Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award is presented annually to an individual who has shown extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.
*This news was first copy-edited by Courage Iroegbute on the 21st of July, 2020. It was modified by Toju Micheal Ogbe on the 22nd of July, 2020.
