A Nigerian journalist, Abdulrasheed Hammad, was declared the winner of the WAMECA 2025 Telecoms & ICT Reporting award. However, after a complaint by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) that his story was first published in 2023—outside the eligibility period—the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) withdrew his award and named Rabo Oumarou from Burkina Faso as the new winner. Hammad has rejected the decision, calling it unfair and damaging to his reputation.