The 2024 Openness Index published by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, has ranked Cross River State as the “most open” state in Nigeria.

The report, which evaluated all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, was released in Abuja on Thursday.

In arriving at the openness ranking, each state was evaluated across seven diagnostic factors, including political environment – which assesses tolerance for dissent, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression by political actors and institutions.

Other diagnostic factors include legal environment – which evaluates the existence and enforcement of laws that support or inhibit freedom of expression and media rights – economic environment – relating to the financial visibility of media operations, ownership patterns and advertising dynamics – and social and cultural context – which looks at social attitudes towards press freedom, including gender, religion, ethnicity and social norms.

Journalistic principles and practices – which examines internal media standards, professional ethics and capacity for independent journalism – treatment of journalists – which tracks physical attacks, harassment, intimidation and legal actions targeting journalists – and gender inclusion – focusing on gender representation in media leadership and coverage, and experiences of gender-based discrimination – complete the seven diagnostic factors.

“The findings of the CJID Openness Index reveal a complex, uneven democratic landscape. Openness exists on a spectrum across Nigeria, shaped by political culture, institutional capacity, and the behaviour of powerholders,” the report said.

According to the findings of the 2024 Openness Index, Cross River ranked as the most open state in Nigeria, with the state standing out for “its tolerance of dissent, proactive information disclosure, and relatively safe environment for journalists and civic actors”.

Ondo, Delta, Katsina and Ekiti complete the top five most open states. According to the Openness Index, the four states demonstrate strong institutional protections, functional media environments and low incidences of harassment.

The report, in the same vein, identified Anambra, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Imo states as the lowest performing states.

“They all performed below average on indicators that appraised political tolerance, media independence, and behaviour of the security forces, representing a repressive environment,” the report noted.

The Openness Index highlighted the poor performance of Lagos State.

“Despite being Nigeria’s media and commercial hub, Lagos recorded persistent high-severity violations, including the harassment and detention of journalists, alongside poor perceptions of openness. It ranks 22nd on the perception index but for instance accounts for the highest number of murder recorded against journalists in the country, using PAT data,” the report noted.

The report equally observed regional trends in the Openness Index, with southern states performing better than the northern states “but with significant exceptions”.

Also, it was observed that some states with relatively robust legal frameworks still reported high incident rates – underscoring the gap between the law and practices.

Dapo Olorunyomi, Chief Executive Officer, CJID, described the findings as “both sobering and hopeful”, noting that openness must be continuously protected.

“The states that perform the best show that democratic space can be expanded with deliberate action. Others, however, demonstrate how quickly rights can erode when civic space is treated as expendable,” Olorunyomi added.

Explaining the need for the Openness Index, the CJID boss stressed that the health of any democracy is measured not by the presence of elections or institutions, but by the everyday freedoms the citizens enjoy – especially the freedom to speak, organise and dissent without fear.

However, he observed that in Nigeria, democratic progress is most often measured through a national lens, thereby overlooking how power and civic freedom are negotiated at the state level.

“Our federal structure means that the realities of press freedom, civic participation and open expression differ dramatically from one state to another. Until now, this uneven terrain has gone largely unmeasured.

“The CJID Openness Index responds to this gap. It is the first comprehensive attempt to systematically assess the state of openness and the conditions that enable expression, participation, and media freedom across all 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. By combining the lived experiences of over 1,000 respondents with verified incident tracking, this Index offers a data-driven picture of where openness thrives and where it is under threat,” Olorunyomi said.

He added that the Index is a call to action as it offers policymakers journalists, civil society actors and citizens a clear, comparative view of how their states are doing, and where work is needed. “By setting key benchmarks, it creates a framework for accountability and reform.”