Two PREMIUM TIMES journalists were lavishly celebrated in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Saturday as they won the 2017 edition of the Global Shinning Light Award.

Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, and multiple award-winning  investigative reporter, Emmanuel Mayah, shone like a million stars after they were named winners of the prize ahead of other contenders from other parts of the world.

The prize honours investigative journalism conducted in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions.

They were awarded first place for a two-part story which investigated the extrajudicial killings of IPOB protesters: ‘Inside the Massive Extrajudicial Killings in Nigeria’s South-East‘‎ and ‎’How the Onitsha Massacre of Pro-Biafra Supporters was Coordinated.’‎

The story written by Emmanuel Mayah and edited by Musikilu Mojeed exposed how extra-judicial killings were perpetrated and covered up by state security agencies.

The two-month long investigation uncovered multiple mass graves, lending support to allegations that police and military forces  targeted innocent and defenceless civilians for abuse and extrajudicial killings.

Following reports that included photo evidence, human rights groups called for an independent probe and the army announced another investigation.

“Project No. 1,” by Beladi TV channel, on corruption in Iraq’s Ministry of Education was also announced as joint first place at the award held  as part of the ongoing 10th Global Investigative Journalism Conference.

According to the organisers, this year’s award drew a record 211 submissions from 67 countries, more than double the number of entries in the previous GSL Award in 2015.

“The judges were particularly impressed with the solo investigations that were conducted with minimal resources amid real threats and intimidation,” noted Sheila Coronel, Academic Affairs Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, one of the judges.

“By honouring the extraordinary work of these journalists at risk, we pay tribute to all the good work being done in so many places where courageous journalists keep the flame of watchdog reporting alive.

“The competition this year was extraordinary,” notes David E. Kaplan, executive director of the Global Investigative Journalism Network, which sponsors the awards. “Despite the global backlash against quality journalism, this shows that investigative reporting is alive and well around the world.”

In addition, the judges honoured two other projects with citations of excellence: “Making a Killing,” for the joint investigation that exposed an arms pipeline between Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East worth €1.2 billion; and “Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Coverup,”, for an undercover investigation revealing India’s top officials’ complicity in the 2002 Gujarat Riots.

Mr. Mojeed is a former John S. Knight International Fellow at Stanford University and Ford Foundation International Fellow at The City University of New York. He has reported extensively on corruption, human rights and human trafficking and is one of Africa’s most regarded investigative journalists.

He is well known for exposing government and corporate corruption in his country.

A winner of several awards, including the FAIR’s Editor’s Courage Award, a Stanford journalism fellowship, the Wole Soyinka Investigative Reporting Award and a Ford Foundation Fellowship, Mr. Mojeed was on the board of the Forum for African Investigative Reporters, and is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

He is a member of the world’s foremost investigative journalism group, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.‎ He recently shared a Pulitzer Prize for his team’s globally-acclaimed reporting on the Panama Papers.

Mr. Mayah is one of Africa’s most regarded investigative journalists. He has done ground-breaking works on human trafficking, environmental and human rights abuses as well as on illicit financial flows.

He, at various times, won local and international awards, including the FAIR African Investigative Reporting Award, the CNN/Multichoice Journalist Award, the Nobert Zongo Prize for Investigative Journalism and the Woke Soyinka Prize for Investigative Journalism, among others.