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Investigative Journalism: Daily Trust, BUK, Wole Soyinka centre, others get $5m grants

Daily Trust Newspaper, a publication of Media Trust Limited (which is also the publisher of Aminiya, Kilimanjaro and Teen Trust) and eight others on Thursday…

Daily Trust Newspaper, a publication of Media Trust Limited (which is also the publisher of Aminiya, Kilimanjaro and Teen Trust) and eight others on Thursday secured $5 million in journalism and media funding to advance anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria, from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The eight others are Bayero University, Kano; Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation; International Centre for Investigative Reporting; Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism; Reboot; Sahara Reporters; Tiger Eye Social Foundation and Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

The foundation in a statement issued on Thursday, noted that the grants are part of the Foundation’s On Nigeria grantmaking, which seeks to create a new atmosphere of accountability, transparency, and good governance in the country by strengthening Nigerian-led anti-corruption efforts and reducing retail or “petty” corruption in key sectors.

It added that the nine grants announced seek to strengthen investigative and data-driven journalism in Nigeria and to reinforce the role played by independent media and citizens in revealing and documenting corruption.

The grants will support a range of projects, including trainings for journalists on investigative field work and data-driven reporting, assistance for independent media organizations working to develop sustainable business models, and initiatives to monitor and report on Nigerian regulatory agencies in key sectors.

Additional funding in 2017 will support efforts to increase the capacity of citizens to use social media as a driver of social change.

“Media and citizens are playing an increasingly active and important watchdog role in Nigeria,” said Kole Shettima, MacArthur Foundation Nigeria Office Director. “With this support we hope to contribute to a culture of investigation and transparency, in which authorities are held accountable and independent voices are empowered to monitor, detect, and report on issues of corruption.”

The Foundation’s On Nigeria grantmaking seeks to support Nigerian-led efforts to address the corruption, impunity, and lack of accountability that have posed major governance challenges in Nigeria, with far-reaching impacts on the well-being of Nigerians and development in the country. Strategic priorities of the work include reducing corruption in the electricity and education sectors, two services that Nigerians report as being critical but difficult to access due in part to corruption. The grants announced are intended to support this work by building and strengthening a system of accountability journalism in the country.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including over-incarceration, global climate change, nuclear risk, and significantly increasing financial capital for the social sector.

The Foundation also supports key government effectiveness initiatives, including the implementation of the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

MacArthur, in partnership with the Open Society and Ford foundations, established the Anti-Corruption and Criminal Justice Reform Fund, which supports the Nigerian government in its efforts to tackle corruption. MacArthur has been making grants in Nigeria since 1989, opening an office in Abuja in 1994 staffed by Nigerians.

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