What was the brief like?
I embarked on telling the story of 21-year-old Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, a Nigerian footballer who was executed in Singapore for alleged drug trafficking.
Let’s talk about how you handled the brief.
This event happened in 2007 and not much has been said or done to get justice for the late footballer. As a staff writer at Neusroom, this story caught my attention and I decided to explore it. I found the Singaporean lawyer, Madasamy Ravi — who defended Tochi pro bono, as well as his Nigerian counterpart, Princewill Apakpan who tried to get the death sentence overturned. 13 years after the execution, I was able to get the facts of the story by speaking with these two lawyers.
Can you share some of the results or outcomes from this campaign/project?
Revisiting this story did two things. First, it sort of reignited conversations about the reports of alleged mistreatment of Nigerians in the diaspora. It also spotlighted the need for the Nigerian government to do a better job of defending its citizens abroad. According to the Singaporean lawyer, this year (2022), he plans to create a movie based on Tochi’s story. You can read my article on Tochi’s execution here.
Have you got any key lessons from this campaign/project that is worth sharing?
My love for covering human-interest stories has increased and I’m now more intentional about telling the stories of those who have no voice. I have learned that people matter, especially those at the lowest rung of the social ladder. Their stories are worth telling.
What’s next for you over the next three months?
I will be focusing on uncovering a series of unsolved murders on Neusroom. You should look out for these stories when we begin to roll them out.
While working on this campaign/project did you ever get to a point where you questioned if this career path was for you? If you did, can you share what made you feel this way and your motivation to keep going?
At some point, I almost let sleeping dogs lie as I wondered if it was better to forget about this event that took place in 2007. Thankfully, I was and am still driven by the urge to bring this seemingly random person’s story to readers. Regardless of how much progress I recorded while exploring this story, I don’t believe my work is done yet, as nothing will bring me more joy than for the Singaporean government to apologise for the wrongful death of Tochi and clear his name.
Was there any feedback from the client or your boss(es) that you are going to be holding on to for a while?
To tell the stories of people who wouldn’t get a shot at being covered by mainstream media.
Did you acquire any new skill as a result of this task?
Sure I did. I can boldly say that I’m now a better researcher with an eye for compelling stories.
My moods during the campaign:
At the beginning: 😰
Midway: 😎
At the end: 🤯
