Nigerian journalist, Philip Obaji, has been named winner of the 2025 Homo Homini award, one of the most prestigious human rights prizes in the world. Obaji shares the recognition with Viktorija Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian captivity.
Obaji, who is known for his reporting on the clandestine activities of Russian paramilitaries deployed in West and Central Africa, is being recognized for his “detailed mapping of more than a hundred cases of gross human rights violations of defenceless citizens by paramilitary units,” according to the executive board of People in Need, a Czech organization founded on the ideals of humanism, freedom, equality, and solidarity. The 39-year-old becomes the first from sub-Saharan Africa and the first black individual to receive the honour.
Roshchyna, on the other hand, is being recognized for the important work she did to “tell the stories of Ukrainians in the occupied territories.” In August 2023, she disappeared while traveling through Russia to the occupied Ukrainian territories. A year later, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed that Roshchyna had been captured. Her name later appeared on the list of prisoners intended for exchange. However, this did not come to pass. According to a report by the Russian Ministry of Defence, she died during a transfer from one Russian prison to another. In early October 2024, the Russian side informed her family that Victoria had died on September 19. The letter did not state anything about the circumstances, causes, or exact place of death. Her body has not yet been officially identified or released to her family for burial.
The Homo Homini award ceremony will take place on March 12, 2025, in Prague, when the next edition of the One World Human Rights Film Festival will be officially opened. The Homo Homini Award will be presented to Obaji in person by former Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová. The ceremony will be broadcast live online on People in Need social media channels.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
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