Across West Africa, journalists, media outlets, and activists continue to face repression, with governments and powerful actors using arrests, intimidation, and censorship to stifle dissent. The region’s civic space is shrinking, and freedom of expression (FOE) remains under threat, exacerbated by a climate of impunity that emboldens perpetrators. With support from the 11th Hour Project of The Schmidt Family Foundation, MFWA continues to monitor and document these violations to advocate for a free and open civic space in the region.
The monitoring of the region in October 2024 revealed incidents of Freedom of Expression violations recorded in October 2024. The incidents recorded in Senegal, Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso include Physical Attacks, Arrests and Detentions, Sentencing and Judicial Harassment of journalists and activists and Media Censorship and Suspension.
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