Hafsah Muhammed Ibrahim, an Investigative Journalist with WikkiTimes, has won the Global Investigative Journalism Network Fellowship and will join journalists from over 100 countries to attend the 14th Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The reporter will join over 1,500 investigative journalists in Malaysia in November for the global event.
Hafsah, a reporter and Head of the WikkiTimes podcast, has focused on reports spotlighting corruption, human rights violations, and other societal injustices in recent years.
In 2022, she went undercover to expose how health personnel in Gombe forge medical certificates for a token. The report, which garnered reactions from stakeholders, led to the dismissal of the culprits.
In two other groundbreaking investigations in 2023 and 2024, Hafsah reported how girls are exposed to child labour and abused by their blind principals, as well as how special needs students endure poor educational facilities. The reports, while highlighting violations of children’s rights, exposed corruption and bad governance.
Beyond her investigative reports, Hafsah anchors the Unheard Voices and Kukan Zuci Podcasts. The two podcasts, anchored in English and Hausa, are dedicated to shedding light on the often overlooked and silenced experiences of women in Northern Nigeria.
The Podcast, aired on two Radio Stations in the Northeast, boasts of over 3 million listeners every month. It gives women a platform to share their stories of struggles and triumphs while challenging societal norms.
Reacting to the development, Hafsah expressed enthusiasm, saying it is a rare opportunity to be part of the global gathering.
“It feels surreal that I will be in the same room and interact with various world-class journalists. I acknowledge this as a milestone in my career.
“I would like to use this opportunity to express my immense gratitude to everyone in the newsroom, especially my publisher, Haruna Mohammed, for his support and mentorship over the years and to the co-publisher, Ajibola Amzat. The duo continues to light our spirit and encourage us to hold power accountable in ways I believe no newsroom does in the North.
“My editor, Aminu Naganye, has also been very supportive in pushing me to work hard and meet those compelling deadlines!
Hafsat also eulogised her husband for “being supportive and playing a huge role in shaping the journalist that I am today.”
Since 2001, GIJN has occurred biennially, bringing together more than 8,000 journalists from 140 countries. In 2023, three staff members from WikkiTmes, the publisher, co-publisher, and editor, attended the global event in Gothenburg, Sweden. The event attracted over 2,400 journalists.
