The International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, and the Premium Times Investigative Journalism Centre, an arm of the Premium Times, Nigeria’s foremost online newspaper, have become members of the prestigious Global Investigative Journalism Network, GIJN, an organisation of non-profit newsrooms across the world devoted to investigative reporting.

The ICIR is a non profit investigative reporting news agency devoted to promoting accountability and transparency in the public space in Nigeria.

The two Nigerian news organisations join 10 others from 10 countries around the world as the latest members of the investigative journalism network, including an Indian newsroom famed for its undercover work, a Peruvian data journalism pioneer, a Transylvanian muckraking non-profit.

This brings the GIJN’s membership to 128 organisations from 57 countries. The new members are drawn from news reporting organizations, media development groups, and training centres.

The membership of the new groups, which in keeping with Network’s policy are all journalism non-profit organisations that support investigative reporting or data journalism, was approved by the GIJN board on Monday.

The other new members of the Network mostly from the Global South are Átlátszó Erdély (Romania), Bhutan Media Foundation (BMF), Convoca (Peru), DIG (Documentary Investigation Journalism) Association (Italy), Finance Uncovered (UK) and Forum for Media and Literature (India).

Others are INK Centre for Investigative Journalism (Botswana), IHECS Academy (Belgium), JARING (Indonesia Network for Investigative Journalism) (Indonesia) and The Centre for Media and Development Initiatives (Vietnam).

The GIJN is a reputable international association of non – profit organizations that support, promote, and produce investigative journalism. As part of its mandate, it holds conferences, conducts trainings, provides resources and consulting, and encourages the creation of similar non-profit groups around the world.