Freedom of expression violations across West Africa surged significantly in January 2026, the opening month of the year, reaching five times the number of incidents recorded in December 2025.
This sharp increase signalled a concerning deterioration in the state of civic freedoms at the start of the year.
In December 2025, the MFWA recorded two violations—one in Nigeria and the other in Senegal— the lowest monthly tally of 2025. While this decline offered hope that the region was making progress towards a more enabling environment for freedom of expression and that this positive trend would continue into 2026, the dramatic increase in January 2026 not only erased the gains recorded but highlighted the resurgence of threats to freedom of expression across the region.
From the dissolution of all political parties in Burkina Faso, attackers disrupting a live broadcast by threatening Arise TV journalists, a soldier shooting a protester demonstrating against rising insecurity in Edo State, Nigeria. assaults on journalists by security personnel in Ghana and the arrest of a DW correspondent in Niger, in January 2026, pointed to a heightened level of impunity within West Africa’s security forces, as they were predominantly the main perpetrators of the violations.
This January 2026 report is produced with support from the 11th Hour Project of The Schmidt Family Foundation to draw attention to the freedom of expression situation in West Africa and seeks to draw attention to the freedom of expression situation in West Africa. The report is compiled from data gathered through daily monitoring of the freedom of expression environment in the 16 countries by MFWA’s monitors, correspondents, and national partners.
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