Nigerian poet Ogaga Ifowodo takes home the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature

Poet, lawyer and activist Ogaga Ifowodo won the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature - $100,000, one of Africa's richest literary awards - for his poetry collection 'Why Does God Need a Gun?' (Masobe Books), chosen from 223 entries and announced at Nigeria LNG's Grand Award Night in Lagos on Oct 9. The same night, filmmakers Peter Oghenetega Oke and Feranmi Abiola shared the inaugural $20,000 Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts for their documentaries, while Mary-Brenda Akoda won the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation for GenScan AI, software that speeds up MRI scans - the first woman to win the science prize solo and its first Gen Z winner.