On Wednesday January 20, 2021, the award-winning Investigative Journalist, Fisayo Soyombo unveiled an online investigative platform called Foundation for Investigative Journalism.
Foundation for investigative journalism is a platform established by the veteran journalist targeted at Investigative journalism, social injustice and by it also, train young journalists who are interested in investigative journalism.
During his interview with one of Nigeria’s leading newspaper outlet, The Punch, Fisayo Soyombo stated that "The simple fact is there’s little competition. Apart from investigative work, the Foundation for Investigative Journalism focuses on reporting social injustices. We’re a niche paper; I’m not quite sure there’s any online newspaper in Nigeria today that focuses solely on reporting social injustices. So, we’re not here to compete with The PUNCH, The Guardian or The Cable. We just want to be the voice that people seek out when they’ve been wronged and they need justice."
In his recent tweet on his social media handle platform, Twitter, @fisayosoyombo promises to release a three series report of the Lekki Toll-Gate saga.
Foundation for investigative journalism provides the coverage of the biggest social injustice of 2020 –unveiling the event that unfolded during the EndSARS protesters and the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20. While responding to why he had to start an online newspaper after a year and half in investigative reporting in his other interview with The Cable, Fisayo said he would have indeed stayed longer “but founding the FIJ was one evolution”. Fisayo said he saw the opportunity to raise a team of young journalists who truly wants to serve the public with their work and time; that he meant by travelling far. Mr. Fisayo also said that one of the news to be published by the foundation is a video production titled - 'Portraits of Blood'... which will be “my first story for FIJ”.
The foundation promised to also release more information about people who have suffered one social injustice or the other. One of such is about a woman whose breast was cut off by a hospital on a wrong notion that she had cancer who eventually after the chemo-therapy result discovered she had no cancer.
Also, Fisayo explained more on what the people should expect from FIJ, in his words, said “we believe in the value of our work but we’re not idealists’ were not here to change the world overnight. But we want to make our country, first of all, a slightly more habitable place, and we’re aware good journalism can surely help. It may only be a drop in the ocean but it counts for someone – for a few people – and that’s fine. After the unveiling of FIJ, different video clips were uploaded on the platform.
In one of the videos uploaded on the day of the launch was a conversation between a man and a woman whom the man threatened to deal with if she does not stop. The man, who spoke in Yoruba language said he saw the woman at the protest ground and was told to at first warn her before dealing with her.
#PortraitsOfBlood: https://t.co/fG9JBkqxWU
Fisayo Soyombo is a former editor at The Cable in 2017, also at Sahara Reporters between 2018 and 2019. He worked at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR). He studied Agriculture from the premier university of Nigeria, the University of Ibadan and developed his flair for journalism during his first year, second semester at the university.
You can know more about the foundation on their official website – www.fij.ng
Credit: The Cable
The Punch
