The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have signed a three-year agreement to combine data from CJID’s Press Attack Tracker with the commission’s monthly human-rights dashboard.
The signing took place at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja on 18 September 2026. This agreement focuses on journalist safety, monitoring press-freedom violations, joint advocacy, capacity building, and wider human-rights projects.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, was represented by Rabi Anwar, the Director of Legal Services and Enforcement, along with other directors and senior members of the commission.
Ms Anwar highlighted that this partnership fits with the commission's role as stated in the National Human Rights Commission Act 1995 (as amended).
“The commission is a primary agency of government established to ensure the rights of all Nigerian and non-Nigerian citizens within the Nigerian territory, and we take our mandate very seriously.
“It is not every organisation that reaches out to the commission for a partnership that we just roll out the red carpet and partner with them. You have met all the necessary criteria, and we are more than happy to work with you,” Ms Anwar said.
CJID’s team was led by its Director of Operations, Adebimpe Abodunde, along with the Deputy Director of Partnerships and Special Projects, Bisan Habu, and other members.
Mr Habu mentioned that the MoU expands on an existing relationship between the two organizations. This includes their work together on World Press Freedom Day in May 2026. He said the talks focused on how CJID and the NHRC could collaborate on journalist safety, press freedom, and using evidence to support institutional responses.
Speaking on behalf of CJID’s leadership, Ms Abodunde said the partnership offers a chance to link the organisation’s documentation of press freedom violations with the commission’s human-rights work.
Ms Abodunde also pointed out that CJID has recorded attacks on journalists and press freedom violations through its Press Attack Tracker, which started in 2017. The tracker now holds 1,899 confirmed attacks, with records dating back to 1986.
“Behind those numbers are journalists who have been assaulted, detained, threatened, harassed or prevented from doing their work. Each incident matters on its own, but documenting them over time also allows us to see patterns: where attacks are happening, who is responsible, the forms they take, and how the environment for journalism is changing.
“Documentation is one part of that responsibility. We also need credible pathways for evidence to reach institutions with the mandate to respond.
“An attack on a journalist is a human rights issue. When journalists are attacked or prevented from doing their work, the consequences extend beyond the individual journalist. It affects the media’s ability to inform the public and citizens’ ability to participate meaningfully in a democratic society.”
Ms Abodunde further explained that the partnership will include integrating verified data from CJID’s Press Attack Tracker into NHRC’s monthly human-rights dashboard. CJID will periodically provide verified data, and the commission will use that information in its wider human-rights monitoring.
Other areas of the partnership will involve joint advocacy, capacity building, public awareness, and other initiatives focused on press freedom and human rights. She added that CJID will also create a specific category for press freedom and human rights reporting at the annual CJID Excellence in Journalism Awards.
“For us, this is an important development. Attacks against journalists documented through PAT will become part of a broader national picture of the human rights situation in Nigeria. It also creates an opportunity for the evidence to receive greater institutional attention and to inform responses where appropriate,” she added.
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