Godwin Asediba and Silas Jonathan are the 2025 winners of the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.
Jonathan’s piece, “How Telegram, TikTok aided Russian disinformation that led to incarceration of Nigerian minors,” examines the ways in which foreign disinformation campaigns can influence African politics and society.
Asediba’s story, “Troubled Morgue,” exposes the appalling conditions within a Ghanaian morgue.
The Michael Elliott Award aims to advance the careers of emerging journalists in Africa who work to strengthen people’s voices and improve their well-being. The award is given out by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), in partnership with the ONE Campaign and the Elliott family.
Jonathan is the digital investigations manager at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, a media-focused think tank in Nigeria. He focuses on media research and open-source intelligence (OSINT) related to AI, disinformation and digital governance policy. His piece ran in the Premium Times.
“This investigation sheds light on a concerning yet overlooked trend: how Russian-aligned disinformation is infiltrating Nigerian protests and shaping anti-democratic narratives,” Jonathan said. “In an era where digital platforms amplify disinformation, understanding these dynamics is crucial to safeguarding democracy and informed decision-making.”
Asediba is a reporter for Media General in Ghana. He focuses on investigations, social issues and current affairs.
Asediba said the documentary was made possible with the support of many individuals. “I would like to express my gratitude to my visual editors, Divine Agbe-Wills and Dickson Agbe-Wills, whose skill and dedication brought the story to life with precision and courage,” he said.“Special thanks to our graphic designers, Jonas Nana Boamah and Savior Teye, for their creative contributions, and to Mensah Kudor for expertly filming side interviews with experts that added depth to the narrative.”
Asediba describes the morgue as a looming public health disaster: “Contaminated water from the morgue is entering local water sources, endangering entire communities. The mortuary workers, underpaid and unprotected, are risking their lives daily. Without urgent intervention, the crisis will spiral into an outbreak of infectious diseases.”
Jonathan and Asediba will receive a cash prize and take part in a customized professional development program at the London headquarters of The Economist, a generous long-time partner of the award.
“I warmly congratulate Godwin Asediba and Silas Jonathan on their powerful and tenaciously researched stories, that each shine a timely light on important issues in Africa,” said Emma Oxford, Michael Elliott’s widow. “I am so grateful to the many individuals and institutions who honor Michael with their generous support for the program. I am very thankful to my fellow judges, especially to Lionel Barber for chairing the selection committee, and to ICFJ, ONE and The Economist. I know that Godwin and Silas will have an amazing experience in London, and I am delighted that The Economist will host them there.”
The Elliott Award was established in 2016 in honor of former ICFJ board member Michael Elliott, who served as a top editor at The Economist, Newsweek, and Time before becoming CEO of ONE.
“The quality of this year’s entries testifies to the growing reputation of the Michael Elliott Award in Africa,” said Lionel Barber, former editor of the Financial Times and the chair of this year’s judging panel. “The two winners produced two outstanding examples of deep and original reporting. They are worthy winners in a strong field.”
This year’s judging panel was:
Adekunle Adebajo, Editor of the African Academy for Open Source Investigations (AAOSI) at Code for Africa, and 2023 Elliott Award Winner
Lionel Barber, Chair, Former Editor of the Financial Times and Author of “Gambling Man”
Matthew Bishop, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution
Roxana Elliott, Senior Director-Content, DigitalOcean
Catherine Gicheru, Former ICFJ Knight Fellow and Director of the Africa Women Journalism Project
Abubakar Ibrahim, Daily Trust Editorial Board Member and 2018 Elliott Award Winner
Rik Kirkland, Chair, Douglas Knowledge Partners; Senior Advisor, McKinsey and Company; and ICFJ Board Director
Adrian Lovett, Executive Director, ONE
Sharon Moshavi, President, ICFJ
Emma Oxford, Author of “At Least We Lived”
Lena Schipper, Africa Editor, The Economist
Dorcas Wangira, Health Correspondent, BBC Africa and 2019 Elliott Award Winner
About the Michael Elliott Award
Michael Elliott, a passionate writer and editor with a gift for unraveling complex issues, shone a light on global development issues and the people at their center. A longtime board member of ICFJ, Elliott championed great journalism as a tool for empowerment. As ONE’s CEO, he lobbied to improve the lives of all Africans. Shortly before his untimely death in 2016, Elliott spoke of his dream to establish an award that would bring together his belief in great journalism with his commitment to progress in Africa.
Previous Elliott Award winners include Mercy Juma, Linda Ngari, and Dorcas Wangira of Kenya; Bernadette Vivuya of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Khalid Bencherif of Morocco; Nalova Akua of Cameroon; Farai Shawn Matiashe of Zimbabwe; and Abubakar Ibrahim, Kiki Mordi, Zainab Bala, Kemi Busari, and Adekunle Adebajo of Nigeria. These talented journalists have uncovered child labor in mines, exposed sexual harassment in universities, the fight against female genital mutilation, and more.