In a significant boost to community journalism in one of Nigeria’s most challenging regions, Jokpeme Joseph Omode, Editor-in-Chief of Alexa News Nigeria (Alexa.ng), and others were selected for the Strengthening Community Journalism and Human Rights Advocacy in Northern Nigeria (SCOJA) Fellowship. Organized by the HumAngle Foundation with generous support from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nigeria, the fellowship recently concluded its intensive three-day training session from November 10 to 12, 2025, in Jos, the capital of Plateau State.
The programme began with intensive workshops held simultaneously in Kaduna and Jos, Plateau State, on November 10, 2025, drawing together a diverse group of community journalists and human rights advocates committed to refining their craft in ethical storytelling and evidence-based reporting.
A week later, on Monday, November 17, the training extended to Maiduguri in Borno State, the heart of Nigeria’s North East region, which has long grappled with the aftermath of insurgency and humanitarian crises. This phased rollout underscores the fellowship’s tailored approach to addressing the unique challenges faced by media practitioners and activists operating in insecure environments.
Funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, the SCOJA Fellowship is designed to strengthen the professional capacities of grassroots journalists and advocates across the northern part of the country. This year, the programme has selected an impressive cohort of 90 fellows drawn from nine states spanning three geopolitical zones: the North West (Kaduna and Kano), North Central (Benue, Niger, Plateau, and Nasarawa), and North East (Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe). The geographical spread reflects a deliberate effort to ensure that voices from some of Nigeria’s most vulnerable and under-reported communities are amplified.
From the very first day of the workshops—whether in Kaduna, Jos, or Maiduguri—participants were introduced to HumAngle’s newly developed Standards of Journalism Excellence and Advocacy guide. This comprehensive manual serves as a practical roadmap for responsible reporting in high-risk settings. It delves into crucial areas such as conflict-sensitive journalism, holding power to account, combating disinformation, ensuring digital safety for journalists, and embracing solutions-oriented journalism that goes beyond merely highlighting problems to proposing viable pathways forward.
Abdussamad Ahmad, HumAngle’s Security & Policy Analyst and one of the key architects of the guide, explained that the resource was crafted specifically for practitioners working in conflict-affected areas where the stakes for accuracy, fairness, and ethical clarity are extraordinarily high. “In environments where misinformation can fuel violence and where journalists themselves are often targets, having clear, actionable standards is not just helpful—it’s essential for survival and impact,” he emphasised during the sessions.
The workshops also placed strong emphasis on the unique role played by community journalists. Unlike national or international correspondents who parachute in during crises, these local reporters live among the people they cover. They are frequently the first to witness human rights abuses, communal clashes, displacement, and other social upheavals. Their proximity grants them unparalleled access to ground truths, but it also exposes them to trauma, threats, and ethical dilemmas. Facilitators highlighted how this frontline position makes community journalists indispensable in shaping accurate public understanding and influencing policy.
Other interactive sessions explored data-driven storytelling techniques, community mapping to identify pressing local challenges, and strategies for fostering collaboration between journalists, advocates, and affected populations to co-create sustainable solutions.
Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive. Hassana Danyerwa, founder of the FeelNHeal Initiative, which provides psychosocial support to individuals and communities in northern Nigeria, described the training as transformative. “We all need emotional hygiene—not just to manage our biases but also to keep our egos in check,” she shared. For someone whose daily work involves supporting survivors of violence and displacement, the sessions on maintaining emotional balance while covering sensitive stories struck a deep chord. “It reminded us that to tell these stories with dignity, we must first take care of our own mental and emotional well-being,” she added.
Across the workshops, recurring themes included the pervasive challenges of reporting amid widespread insecurity, the rapid spread of fake news, and growing public distrust of media. Facilitators urged fellows to double down on rigorous verification processes, to approach vulnerable sources with empathy rather than exploitation, and to prioritise precision even when under pressure.
While the North East cohort continues its training in Maiduguri, the workshops for fellows from the North Central and North West zones successfully concluded on November 13, 2025. This staggered schedule allowed facilitators to provide focused, context-specific guidance to each regional group.
The diversity of this year’s cohort is notable. Fellows hail from respected local and regional media houses and advocacy platforms, including WikkiTimes, The Middle Belt Reporters, Voice of Arewa, and many others. Their collective experience ranges from investigative reporting on governance and corruption to documenting the human toll of farmer-herder conflicts, insurgency, and climate-induced displacement.
Looking ahead, the real impact of the fellowship will unfold over the next six months. Each fellow is required to produce in-depth, ethically sound reporting on critical issues affecting their communities while simultaneously designing and implementing targeted advocacy projects. Additionally, they are tasked with cascading the knowledge and skills acquired during the training back to their home organisations, creating a multiplier effect that extends far beyond the 90 direct beneficiaries.
By investing in community-level journalists and advocates, the SCOJA Fellowship—now in its third successful iteration—is not only raising professional standards but also contributing to greater accountability, social cohesion, and human rights protection in some of Nigeria’s most challenging regions. As misinformation, insecurity, and social tensions continue to test the country’s democratic fabric, initiatives like this offer a vital counterweight: a network of trained, ethical storytellers determined to illuminate truth and foster lasting change.
The program brought together carefully selected journalists and advocates from across Northern Nigeria, all of whom have previously demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ethical reporting, good governance, and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.
The SCOJA Fellowship is specifically designed to equip local journalists with advanced skills to document the human cost of ongoing conflicts in Northern Nigeria—a region plagued by terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder clashes, and communal violence. By focusing on conflict-sensitive journalism, human rights documentation, and accountability reporting, the initiative aims to shift the media narrative from mere event coverage to proactive, evidence-based advocacy that promotes peace, resilience, and societal change.
Speaking at the training venue in Jos, Abdussamad Ahmed, representing the HumAngle Foundation, praised the fellows for their prior dedication to advancing good governance through journalism. “These journalists and advocates have already shown remarkable commitment to truthful reporting in difficult circumstances,” he said. “This fellowship is an opportunity for them to deepen their knowledge, forge meaningful connections, and collaborate on stories that will shape public discourse in Northern Nigeria for the next six months and beyond.” Ahmed stressed that the region’s complex challenges—ranging from insecurity to misinformation—demand nuanced, well-researched coverage to foster greater understanding and drive positive change. At the recent SCOJA Fellowship in Jos, Mr Abdulsamad Ahmed Yusuf, Human Security and Policy Analyst at HumAngle Foundation, reaffirmed the organisation’s mission as a media-driven platform dedicated to uncovering the human impact of conflict across Nigeria, particularly in areas drowning in disinformation. He highlighted HumAngle’s unwavering commitment to delivering accurate, verified information while training hundreds of community journalists in Northern Nigeria to report crises responsibly and ethically.
Mr Yusuf underscored that building a network of skilled, ethical journalists remains central to helping communities understand complex conflicts and hold power to account without inflaming tensions.
Speaking at the same event, Mr Johnstone Kpilaakaa, Sub-Editor and Head of Media Standards at HumAngle, emphasised that professionalism is non-negotiable in conflict zones. He urged participants to maintain balance, fairness and rigorous fact-checking in every story, while prioritising both digital and physical safety in high-risk environments. “Your duty is to inform, not to escalate,” he stressed.
The intensive training featured virtual and in-person sessions covering Accountability Reporting for Community Journalists, advanced Research and Sourcing techniques, Solutions Journalism with real case studies, Climate-Conflict linkages, Psychological Resilience for reporters exposed to trauma, Human Rights Law, Press Freedom principles, and access to legal support mechanisms. These modules equipped fellows with practical tools to produce ethical, impactful stories that promote peace, resilience and justice in Northern Nigeria’s most vulnerable communities.
For Joseph Omode, the fellowship represented both a professional milestone and a renewed call to action. “This training has been an invaluable opportunity to sharpen the tools I already use in my daily work,” Omode shared. “As journalists operating in conflict zones, we must be the best-equipped voices to expose human rights violations, demand accountability from those in power, and tell stories that humanize the suffering of ordinary people. I am confident that the insights gained over these three days will fundamentally transform my reporting in the coming months.” He particularly highlighted the sessions on refreshing best journalistic practices, especially in the context of conflict reporting. “It was a chance to learn from experts and peers on how to report the real impact of violence on communities—safely, ethically, and with maximum impact,” he added.
The three-day curriculum was meticulously crafted to address the unique dangers and ethical dilemmas faced by journalists in Northern Nigeria. Day one, held with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands, delved into conflict mapping, accountability reporting, and solutions-oriented journalism. Through interactive exercises, participants practiced identifying root causes of violence, tracing accountability chains, and framing stories that offer constructive pathways forward rather than inflaming tensions.
Day two shifted focus to the digital age challenges: fact-checking, combating disinformation and misinformation, and crafting community campaigns to counter false narratives. In a region where polarized communities often fall prey to manipulated information, fellows engaged in writing and reframing exercises to master neutral storytelling techniques that build trust without compromising truth.
The final day emphasized personal and professional resilience. Sessions covered psychological resilience for journalists exposed to trauma, legal frameworks for press freedom and safety, digital security awareness, and collaborative approaches to impactful storytelling and advocacy. Fellows also explored emerging issues such as climate change reporting, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) documentation, and trauma-sensitive interviewing techniques. A powerful role-playing exercise helped participants practice engaging empathetically with survivors and vulnerable populations—an essential skill when covering sensitive stories of displacement, assault, or loss.
Other fellows echoed Omode’s enthusiasm. Shola Faloye of Trincity FM in Jos described the workshop as “truly eye-opening.” “I have acquired advanced skills in conflict-sensitive reporting, accountability journalism, digital safety protocols, and ethical SGBV documentation,” Faloye said. “These tools will allow me to safely cover underreported conflicts and give voice to those who are often forgotten.”
James Aparshe, an investigative reporter with Premium Times, was equally effusive. “I’m deeply grateful to the HumAngle Foundation for organizing this vital training. The modules on conflict mapping, verification processes, climate-induced crises, and SGBV were transformative. As someone committed to investigative work, this fellowship has armed me with sharper tools to uncover untold stories, hold power to account, and contribute to meaningful development, especially in my home state of Nasarawa.”
Throughout the training, expert facilitators drove home the importance of ethical integrity amid intense pressure. Media trainer Hauwa Saleh Abubakar urged participants to resist political, ethnic, or religious biases, sensationalism, and the spread of unverified information. “Even under threat or deadline pressure, self-restraint and professional integrity must guide every story,” she emphasized. Media development specialist Johnstone Kpilaakaa complemented this by leading sessions on trauma-sensitive reporting, reminding journalists to approach survivors with profound empathy and to prioritize their dignity above the pursuit of a headline.
In the closing ceremony, the HumAngle Foundation called on fellows to sustain collaborations long after the training ends. By building a stronger regional network, journalists can create a unified, credible voice for marginalized communities and push for systemic change through quality, evidence-based journalism. The SCOJA initiative marks a deliberate pivot in Nigeria’s media ecosystem—from reactive, incident-driven coverage to proactive, solution-driven advocacy that places human rights at its core.
The fellowship is being rolled out in phases across Northern Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central zones, with the Jos cohort marking the official launch on November 10–12, 2025. Parallel sessions were also held in Kaduna, ensuring broader geographic representation. For journalists like Joseph Omode, the real work begins now: translating newly honed skills into stories that not only inform but also heal, unite, and demand justice.
As Northern Nigeria continues to grapple with multifaceted crises, initiatives like SCOJA—supported by international partners such as the Embassy of the Netherlands—offer a beacon of hope. They reaffirm that a free, responsible, and resilient press remains one of the most powerful tools for fostering peace, protecting human rights, and building a more just society. With fellows like Omode leading the charge, the future of community journalism in the region looks brighter and more impactful than ever.
