Peter Nkanga, multilingual investigative journalist and former West Africa Representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has been selected for the 2019 “Jamal Khashoggi Award for Courageous Journalism.”

The award is administered by the US-based Inti Raymi Fund, a global human rights foundation.

In a letter signed by Anas Talalqa, Human Rights Advisor at Inti Raymi Fund, the organisation congratulated Mr Nkanga for his selection for the award, noting that the “The Award honors the brave journalists who expose abuse of power and corruption, share difficult truths, discuss taboo topics, and work in hostile environments. For true democracy to work, there must be a free press.”

“Today I was announced a winner of the ‘Jamal Khashoggi Award for Courageous Journalism’ by @IntiRaymiFund. I dedicate this Award to all journalists and human rights defenders in #Africa. The struggle is real, but it is not over until We Win. #JusticeForJamal,” Peter Nkanga tweeted about the award.

A fierce advocate for press freedom, Peter Nkanga has been at the forefront of the campaign for the rights of journalists in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa. Last year, he spearheaded the advocacy for the release of a journalist, Jones Abiri, publisher of Bayelsa State-based weekly paper, Weekly Source, who was arrested by operatives of the DSS in July 2016. He also coordinated the advocacy and protests in Nigeria on Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was murdered at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018.

According to Inti Raymi Fund, “The Jamal Khashoggi Award (JKA) for Courageous Journalism was created in December 2018 to show people that journalists are not going to step aside, cannot be silenced, and deserve to be recognized for their strength in the face of adversity.”