HumAngle’s Most Impactful Stories of 2024

It’s been a deeply impactful year for us at HumAngle, where our team of dedicated journalists has worked tirelessly to uncover important stories around conflict, humanitarian, and development issues, challenging the status quo and amplifying the voices of those who need to be heard. 

From our in-depth investigations, thought-provoking features and detailed analyses from the frontlines of conflicts to human rights abuses, human trafficking series, podcast and audio stories, displacement issues, accountability, and misinformation and disinformation, we have sparked important conversations, inspired change, and left a lasting impact on our readers across the globe. 

As 2024 comes to an end, we revisit some of our stories that triggered positive change, sparked outrage, inspired empathy, and contributed to public discourse.

Human trafficking series

On Mar. 8, HumAngle published an investigation exposing the plights of Nigerians trafficked to Egypt with a tourist visa and forced to work as housemaids under deplorable conditions for a stipend not enough to feed them.  While victims wanted to return home, their sponsors refused to release their travel passports and threatened to implicate them. 

After the publication of the report, our team wrote to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), briefing them about our findings and calling the attention of the agency to the neglect of Nigerians in Cairo. A few days later, officials of the agency reached out to us for a meeting. We provided details of the victims and their relatives to enable them to embark on a rescue mission. 

Today, two of the three people we interviewed have been rescued and reunited with their families in Nigeria through the efforts of NAPTIP in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).  They also received financial assistance to start a new life in Nigeria. We also have good news from the third person who said her return flight to Nigeria has been booked by IOM. Our impacts are reported here, here, and here. 

Human rights abuses at Dangote refinery 

When a report generates public debates and discourse, it’s fair to say that such a report has a profound impact on society. HumAngle achieved this with our investigations that exposed the human rights violations of workers at the Dangote oil refinery and fertiliser plant in Lagos.

The report sparked public debate on the internet, bringing attention to an issue that has been previously overlooked and underreported despite repeated accounts of victims on social media.

Here’s the conversation that followed our investigation. 

IPOB’s fundraising strategy exposed

In October, HumAngle exposed how Simon Ekpa, a factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), managed to secure significant financial support from sympathisers across the globe. These donations, amounting to thousands of dollars, were raised through various methods, including weekly Zoom fundraising campaigns that are live-streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and X. 

Weeks later, Ekpa – a Finland-based Biafra agitator who is notorious for promoting terrorist propaganda against civilians and authorities in southeastern Nigeria on social media was arrested by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). 

According to Finnish law, individuals or organisations that provide financial support to terrorist activities, such as Ekpa’s violent agitation, can be held liable, as terrorism sponsorship is considered a severe offence, and those found guilty can face severe penalties, including imprisonment and fines. You can read more details about the report, which triggered a lot of public discourse online here. 

Monthly sanitation returns to Lagos 

In the face of a worsening cholera outbreak, HumAngle in July published a feature on open defecation and poor sanitation in South West Nigeria. Nigeria’s economic hub, Lagos, is battling an alarming trend of rampant open defecation as residents often excrete in the middle of highways because of inadequate toilet facilities for people whose shops are on the roadside and others. 

Indiscriminate disposal of waste is common in the city. However, after HumAngle’s report, Lagos announced the return of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise. 

For a few brief hours on the last Saturday of every month, Lagosians put aside their differences and come together to reclaim their city from foul smell. Read our impact here. 

What does 11 years in military detention do to a woman?

In August this year, HumAngle reported the story of a 13-year-old boy whose mother had been in detention for over a decade on allegations of being affiliated with the Boko Haram terror group, even though there was hardly any proof of it. 

The boy had been taken away from his mother at the point of her detention on a road leading to Adamawa State when he was three years old. He was transferred to an orphanage in Yola, where he spent the next 10 years before reuniting with his grandmother in Maiduguri, Borno State. We reached out to the military with details of his mother’s detention, asking about her status. 

Though there was no response, they went ahead to release her about two months later. By the time she returned, she had suffered a lot of mental health strain, but both she and her family were happy to be reunited. Her story can be found here.

Veritas University ‘murder’ case 

Though school authorities insisted that Joshua Daniel, a young student at Veritas University in Abuja, slumped and died while at the gym, his mother insisted that the circumstances did not add up and he was killed. 

HumAngle investigated the story and found a trail of hurriedly strewn about stories, denial from authorities, and several versions that did not add up, all pointing to the fact that the boy’s mother had been right. The story generated a lot of readership, and a few weeks later, three suspects were arraigned and implicated for the murder. 

“The mother of the deceased kept appreciating HumAngle for giving her the opportunity to air her grievances. She further stated that the police started cooperating after the story was published, and three suspects were later arraigned,” says the reporter who worked on the story.

Kawar Maila story

In another development, a documentary produced on the Kawar Maila displaced community achieved a promising impact. For example, houses were allocated to each household at 1000 housing units in Dalori village along the Konduga-Maiduguri road. 

“There were also several follow-up stories in the community. For example, there was a report on how old women were left without house allocation, rendering them homeless. There was also a story of their life after they were resettled in the new place and how women were affected by malnutrition. 

“Because of the story, I had a firsthand experience of the dynamics of the displacement crises at a time when government decisions remain critical to the life of local people and documenting their story allowed me to fulfil my personal passion for journalism and the philosophy to promote the stories that matter,” the reporter who worked on the documentary says.

The impostors promoting terrorists on TikTok 

In January, a HumAngle digital investigation exposed how fake accounts from different social networks were opened in Bello Turji’s name for malicious reasons, including clout chasing and sharp practices by influencers gathering followers for merchandise. 

Turji is a Nigerian terrorist leader ravaging Zamfara and Sokoto states.

The impostors were not only preying on the vulnerability of many internet users to spread terror, but also demonstrating the terrorist’s kidnap-for-ransom escapades and celebrating his cruelty. In fact, the ghost accounts amplified terrorists’ demands from the government during mass kidnap cases in the northwestern region.

After months of web scraping and social network analysis, HumAngle revealed the escapades of impostors promoting Turji, and the report reached TikTok and Facebook. Interestingly, the social media platforms later mopped off the impostors’ accounts. The development was considered a huge progress towards cubing Turji’s propaganda strategies. Read the details here.

The award-winning stories 

Last month, an investigation published by HumAngle on the health impacts of gas flaring on Niger Delta communities won the Kavli Science Awards, organised by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The story exposed how constant gas flaring by oil companies in Nigeria’s South-South region has exposed residents to toxic pollutants, leading to respiratory issues, cancer risks, and other serious health challenges.

Similarly, a HumAngle investigation that uncovered a fraudulent network operating on Facebook to exploit unsuspecting victims was announced as the runner-up of the Best Fact-check category at the inaugural Centre for Journalism, Innovation, and Development (CJID) awards. 

The West Africa Excellence in Journalism Awards took place in Abuja. Through detailed reporting and evidence-based analysis, the piece highlighted the dangers of online disinformation and its impact on Nigerian society. Read more about the important work here.

From our climate desk

For our climate desk, our impactful stories include features on how climate change affects women in northeastern Nigeria, water scarcity in northeastern communities and episode 117 of Vestiges of Violence podcast, which focused on a woman displaced 13 times. 

“While the reports on the agonies of women affected by climate sparked conversations beyond Nigeria, our report on water scarcity in the North East addresses a long-standing but underreported social issue. Being among the few journalists — and the first, to my knowledge — to report on these communities’ 30-year struggle with water scarcity from a human perspective was deeply rewarding. My pride grew even more when a facilitator used the documentary during a training session as a model for highlighting underreported issues with a human-centred approach,” says Al’amin Umar, the reporter who worked on the story. 

“Finally, “Displaced Thirteen Times Over” was a personal milestone as I was entrusted with editing it — a task that initially felt daunting due to the high standards set by previous episodes. However, to my surprise and relief, I successfully edited it, earning praise from the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, and Multimedia Editor. This experience boosted my confidence and affirmed my growth in multimedia production.”

A tragic femicide case in northeastern Nigeria

In November, HumAngle published a report on a tragic femicide case in Bama, northeastern Nigeria, involving 17-year-old Falmata who was murdered by her uncle for standing up for herself after years of physcial and verbal abuse. The case, which offered a window into how honour killings can present in Nigeria, drew widespread comdemnation and demands for accountability on social media. The report was discussed on various radio stations, republished by other media outlets, and fatured in several newsletters in Nigeria and beyond. 

The attention was impactful, as HumAngle has provided authorities with relevant information and strides are being to ensure justice is served.

The Deadly Consequences of Blasphemy Allegations in Nigeria’s North 

Hear directly from the journalist:

“The most profound impact of this story was the difference it made in someone’s life. To witness the liberation of an individual after years of unjust imprisonment is more than just a heartwarming experience. While there’s still a long road ahead for many others who deserve justice, this story reminds us that even the smallest act of journalism can have a profound impact.”