By JKNewsMedia
GROWING THREATS to journalism through digital surveillance and censorship will take centre stage as Angela Quintal, Africa programme director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), delivers the keynote at the 17th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture.
The event, themed ‘Surveillance, Safety and the Silencing of Truth’, brings urgent attention to how press freedom is being undermined across democratic and authoritarian contexts alike.
Quintal will be joined by a panel of respected voices in global journalism: Quinn McKew, executive director of ARTICLE 19; Fisayo Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ); and Sonja Smith, correspondent with the Associated Press.
The session will be moderated by Jimeh Saleh, former editor of the BBC/MacArthur Foundation Series.
The lecture explores how increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies and institutionalised harassment are being used to silence journalists, criminalise reporting, and erode civic space.
Quintal is expected to outline the regional dimensions of these challenges, calling attention to cases where surveillance tools are deployed to track, intimidate, or detain journalists and whistleblowers.
The session reinforces the Centre’s long-standing mission to promote accountability and protect the public’s right to know.
A powerful legacy of advocacy underpins this year’s gathering. In 2016, during the 8th edition of the lecture, experts proposed the simplification and digitisation of Nigeria’s tax system.
On 26 June 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed the tax reform bill into law—bringing to life recommendations made nearly a decade ago and underscoring the Centre’s enduring influence on national policy.
In June, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) hosted a strategic meeting to review the 2024 Journalism and Civic Space Status Report, issued a Democracy Day statement, and convened a new edition of its Journalism and Society Conversations.
During Democracy Day celebrations, 66 individuals, including WSCIJ patron Professor Wole Soyinka and founder Dapo Olorunyomi—were awarded national honours for their contributions to Nigeria’s democratic journey.
The Centre also sponsored a study tour to the Netherlands for eight Soyinka Laureates from 1–6 June 2025, deepening their engagement with press freedom models abroad.
Meanwhile, Executive Director/CEO Motunrayo Alaka received the #EndMisogynyNG Ambassador award from Journalists for Christ (JFC) for advancing gender equity in Nigerian media.
The next Journalism and Society Conversation will be held today, 08 July 2025 at 11:00am (WAT) on the theme “Technology: The Double-Edged Force Behind Misinformation And Its Detection.”
