Abuja — The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) today officially announced the expansion of its Press Attack Tracker (PAT) to monitor and document press freedom violations across West Africa. This expansion follows nine years of successful monitoring and tracking in Nigeria and comes in response to a substantial increase in media suppression across the region, marking a significant milestone in CJID's ongoing efforts to strengthen the regional media landscape.
Founded in 2017 as a civic technology and data driven tool, the PAT was designed to monitor, track and document attacks against journalists and independent media. Since its inception, the tracker has monitored, tracked, and documented 1,326 press freedom violations in Nigeria alone, including 28 deaths. These documented attacks range from murder, access denial, cyberbullying, physical assault and harassment to equipment/property damage and seizure, kidnapping, sanction, unlawful arrest, unlawful imprisonment, and Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
Monitoring is performed systematically using diverse and complementary sources, including established networks and direct reports from journalists and newsrooms. The tool facilitates data driven advocacy and international monitoring; and all documented incidents are publicly accessible. The data serves as robust evidence for advocacy efforts aimed at influencing policies, mobilising public opinion, driving social change, and ensuring accountability for perpetrators.
The expansion closes a long-standing regional data gap of press freedom violations and ensures that advocacy messages are based on solid and accurate evidence. This initial phase covers Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia, with plans to include Francophone African countries before the end of the year.
As West African media faces mounting pressure, the PAT provides the insights necessary for a coordinated regional strategy. The launch is part of an event commemorating World Press Freedom Day 2026, held in partnership with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the National Human Rights Commission.
The event will feature a live demo of the PAT, showcasing its features and how to utilise the platform. Victims of press freedom violations across the region can now report attacks directly via the PAT website or by contacting the CJID team.
The CJID reaffirms its commitment to leading critical innovations that build more efficient mechanisms to strengthen the safety and welfare of journalists and independent media across Africa. This aligns with our vision to promote a diverse, vibrant, and enabling media landscape that improves governance responsiveness and advances democratic accountability for inclusive and sustainable development on the continent.
About CJID
The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) is a West African media innovation and development think tank, a non-governmental organisation spearheading initiatives that advance investigative journalism, media literacy, elections, human rights, and the safety and welfare of journalists to promote democratic accountability for inclusive and sustainable development across Africa.
