Abuja-based freelance photojournalist Afolabi Sotunde was the first journalist to reach Papiri, Nigeria, after hearing that abducted school children had been freed. Determined to document their experience firsthand, he made a grueling nine-hour drive to the remote village — then spent hours speaking with locals and, through a priest’s introduction, was taken to the home of freed elementary student Onyeka Chieme.
There, Sotunde heard a chilling account. Onyeka described jumping through a window to escape, hiding under trees from overhead aircraft, being beaten if he made a sound, and drinking dirty river water to survive. He recalled how older students were blindfolded and tied up, and the terror of lining up under the captors’ orders before the youngest 100 were released.
Sotunde used a rented Starlink unit — acquired with foresight — to transmit the first images and video from the scene, beating competitors and offering exclusive visual insight into the aftermath of the mass abduction. His photos showed the raw emotion of parents reuniting with their children.
From Lagos, West Africa reporter Ope Adetayo transformed the interviews into a gripping text narrative, capturing the trauma and complexity of the students’ experience in what became the first on-the-ground written report of the Nov. 21 abduction.
Judges praised Sotunde’s perseverance in reaching the remote village and Adetayo’s ability to quickly turn the reporting into a powerful, dramatic story.
For their determination to tell a wrenching tale, Sotunde and Adetayo earn this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.
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