Nigeria, Oct. 4 -- In its 2024 Openness Index, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) declared Imo State the worst place to be a journalist in Nigeria. The index, a subnational assessment of press freedom and civic space in Nigeria, was published in July. It ranked states based on political openness, media independence, and the safety of civic actors.

The Imo State Government quickly dismissed the report. Commissioner for Information Declan Emelumba described the report as "fraught with fallacies and sensational stunts," insisting it was "biased, jaundiced, unreliable, and absolutely unempirical."

But when Martin Opara, editor of the Nigerian Watchdog Newspaper, read the report, he simply smiled, because his organis...