CJID announces 2026 Excellence in Media Awards finalists across nine West African countries

The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has announced the finalists for the 2026 Excellence in Media Awards, following submissions from journalists across nine West African countries. The third edition of the awards, which began in 2024, attracted 424 entries from 277 journalists, representing a 54.2 per cent increase on the 275 entries received for the 2025 edition.

Submissions came from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea and Benin. The awards recognise journalism that contributes to public accountability, promotes human rights and addresses critical social and development issues across the region. According to CJID, entries first underwent a screening process, after which the top five submissions in each of the eight award categories were presented to an independent panel of judges for assessment.

The jury was chaired by Hannah Ajakaiye, founding editor of FactsMatter NG. Other members were Maxime Domegni, Francophone Africa Editor for the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN); Ajibola Amzat, Africa Editor at the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ); Kent Mensah, Chief Ghana Correspondent for The Africa Report; Manasseh Azure Awuni, investigative journalist and editor; and Amaka Okoye, Bureau Chief for Deutsche Welle’s Studio Lagos.

The eight categories are Health Reporting, Community Reporting, Human Rights Reporting, Social Accountability, Climate Change Reporting, Solutions Journalism, Fact-Checking, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Reporting. No Editor of the Year winner The jury decided not to select a winner in the Editor of the Year category, citing the limited number of submissions that met the award’s evaluation criteria.

CJID congratulates finalists CJID Chief Executive Officer Dapo Olorunyomi congratulated the finalists and commended journalists who submitted their work. “Every year, these awards remind us of the important work journalists continue to do across our region, often under difficult circumstances and with limited resources. The stories recognised this year reflect the courage, persistence and public service that sustain journalism in West Africa,” he said.

He also thanked the independent jury for its work in assessing the entries and acknowledged all journalists who participated. Winners to be announced in Abuja The finalists will be honoured at the CJID Awards ceremony on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, at the Abuja Continental Hotel in Nigeria. The ceremony will form part of the Media and Development Conference, where the winners and runners-up in each category will be announced.

The 2026 awards are supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Abuja and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.