WikkiTimes, a leading investigative and accountability journalism platform in Northern Nigeria, has announced the launch of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas AI Accountability Fellowship, a specialised program aimed at strengthening investigative reporting on extractive industries, environmental degradation and resource injustice in under-reported communities across the region.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the organisation through its media development arm, the WikkiTimes Media Foundation, and signed by its Publisher, Haruna Mohammed Salisu.
The fellowship comes amid the rapid expansion of mining and other extractive activities in Nigeria, particularly in Northern states, where communities are increasingly grappling with illegal mining, environmental destruction, resource theft, displacement and weak regulatory oversight.
Despite the scale of these challenges, WikkiTimes noted that reporting on extractive-sector abuses remains limited, largely due to capacity gaps and restricted access to advanced investigative tools within local newsrooms.
Conceived in the spirit of renowned Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the fellowship is designed to bridge this gap by equipping journalists with advanced digital, data and artificial intelligence tools to enhance public-interest reporting and accountability.
The program will prioritise journalists working in extractive-affected states across the 19 states of Northern Nigeria.
Participants will be trained to deploy artificial intelligence, open-source intelligence, geospatial analysis, satellite imagery and evidence-based storytelling to uncover and document governance failures and abuses in the extractive sector.
The fellowship will run for six months in two phases, beginning with three months of intensive training, followed by a three-month practicum focused on producing in-depth investigative reports under close editorial mentorship.
Speaking on the motivation behind naming the fellowship after Anas, Salisu said the decision was rooted in the need for a powerful symbol of courage and resilience for young journalists in the region.
“We chose to name this fellowship after Anas for a reason that goes beyond admiration. We need a symbol of courage and resilience that can genuinely inspire young reporters in the region,” he said.
He recalled an incident in Gombe last year that, according to him, further exemplified Anas’s commitment to investigative journalism and mentorship.
Salisu explained that Anas had missed his flight from Abuja to Gombe a day before a conference co-hosted by WikkiTimes and Northeastern University, Gombe, but still insisted on attending.
He travelled by road overnight through what he described as one of Nigeria’s most dangerous routes and arrived in Gombe at about 3 a.m., only hours before he was scheduled to speak.
“He took that risk because he believed the young people we brought together deserved to be encouraged,” Salisu said, adding that Anas’s presence at the event motivated dozens of emerging journalists, including students from the Federal University, Kashere, and Northeastern University, Gombe.
According to the publisher, the fellowship is built on the values Anas represents, including courage, creativity and fearlessness. He said WikkiTimes hopes to instil these values in journalists working in what he described as forgotten communities across Northern Nigeria.
Salisu also referenced former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks about Anas, noting that the same “spark” of courage and commitment is what the organisation seeks to ignite in young reporters through the programme.
He further stated that WikkiTimes remains committed to training journalists who are prepared to interrogate systems of extractive abuse and environmental injustice, noting that Anas’s work exemplifies evidence-based and courageous journalism.
Through the fellowship, the organisation aims to support reporters to expose wrongdoing and amplify the voices of vulnerable communities, in line with its core values.
Selected fellows will receive editorial mentorship, a monthly stipend and access to digital investigative technologies, and will work with WikkiTimes to complete at least one investigation. They will also receive a certificate of completion signed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
Interested applicants have been advised to visit the organisation’s website for application details, while inquiries can be directed to Hafsah Ibrahim via hafseemuhammad@wikkitimes.com
