Kiki Mordi


Kiki Mordi is a Nigerian journalist, media personality, filmmaker and writer. In 2016, she won the award of Outstanding Radio Program Presenter at the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards.

Early life and education

Mordi was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria to Nigerian parents. After the death of her father, she gained admission into University of Nigeria, Nsukka to study medicine, but later dropped out due to sexual harassment from a certain lecturer.

Career

Mordi is a Nigerian journalist, media personality, filmmaker and writer. She is currently a BBC Africa Eye reporter and the head of presenting with WFM 91.7. In 2017, she started an online petition to end police extortion and exploitation after some Nigerian policemen invaded their home and accused her and her boyfriend of being cultists. In 2015, she was nominated for The Most Promising Young Presenter at the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards. In 2016, she won the award of Outstanding Radio Program Presenter at the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards. She was nominated for the On-air Personality of the Year at the Scream All-Youth Awards. On 3 November 2019, she was nominated for The Future Awards Africa in Prize for Journalism category.

Life at the Bay

In 2019, she produced a documentary film "Life at the Bay" in Lagos, Nigeria. The film tells the story of the inhabitants of Tarkwa Bay and the survival and struggles of their women.
On 17 May 2019, the film directed by Nora Awolowo was selected by Real Time International Film Festival.
On 6 October 2019, the film was selected to show at the 2019 Africa International Film Festival.

2019 Sex for Grades Documentary

On 7 October 2019, Mordi and her team at the BBC Africa Eye released a 13-minute documentary exposing sexual harassment of students by lecturers in University of Lagos and University of Ghana. Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu of University of Lagos, Dr. Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor of University of Ghana were the lecturers implicated in a viral video that came with the exposé. Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu is a senior lecturer in the faculty of arts, University of Lagos and a head pastor of Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, Dr. Ransford Gyampo is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Ghana and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor is a lecturer at the College of Education in the University of Ghana. Mordi, who was disguised as a 17-year-old admission seeker in the video, stated that it took she and her team, nine months to complete the investigation. After the exposé, Dr. Ransford Gyampo threatened to sue the BBC. Due to the documentary, University of Lagos suspended Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and Foursquare Gospel Church asked him to step down from the pulpit. A "Cold Room" caught in the video where lecturers sexually harass students was shut down by the University of Lagos. Nigerian musician, Adekunle Gold and wife Simi hailed Mordi for her Sex for Grades Documentary. A former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar and a former senate president of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki, called on the Nigerian government to take immediate action against sexual harassment in Nigerian universities. In an interview with Sahara Reporters, Mordi revealed that she has received subtle threats since concluding the investigation.
On 8 October 2019, Mordi and her team at the BBC Africa Eye released a full hour long documentary that featured more lecturers that are guilty of sexually harassing students and led to the suspension of Dr Samuel Oladipo, a lecturer at the Department of Economics, University of Lagos.
On 9 October 2019, the Nigerian senate heeded the call of Nigerians and re-introduced the anti-sexual harassment bill and was read on the floor of the senate.
On 9 July 2020, the Nigerian Senate passed the anti-sexual harassment bill, while proposing up to 14 years jail term for offenders.

Awards and nominations