West Africa: Journalists Rearrested Over Alleged Misinformation On Intelligence Ties

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the repeated arrest of three journalists in Agadez, northern Niger, for allegedly spreading misinformation about the country’s intelligence cooperation with Russia and Turkey. The Sahara FM journalists, Hamid Mahmoud, Mahaman Sani and Massaouda Jaharou, were arrested twice in two days after discussing a foreign media report on air.

The journalists were initially detained on 8 May 2025 after their station aired a news article originally published by France-based online outlet LSI Africa. The article, published on 7 May, claimed that Niger had discreetly terminated its intelligence cooperation with Russia and Turkey over ineffective equipment. It also reported that Niger had cancelled an emergency partnership with a Moroccan firm allegedly linked to a French company, citing concerns about Western influence.

Following several hours of police interrogation, the journalists were brought before the public prosecutor. On 9 May, a judge ordered their release, stating there was no legal basis to keep them in custody.

However, later that night, the three were re-arrested. According to Air Info Agadez, the media group to which Sahara FM belongs, security officials detained the journalists again between 9 and 10 May 2025.

Sahara FM’s management told the MFWA that during questioning, the police interrogators focused on why the radio station had broadcast the LSI Africa story. Authorities reportedly suggested that the journalists may have been paid to do so.

The MFWA strongly condemns the continued harassment of Hamid Mahmoud, Mahaman Sani and Massaouda Jaharou, and calls on the Nigerien authorities to respect press freedom. The re-arrest of the journalists despite a judge’s order for their release is deeply troubling. We urge the government to refrain from using diplomatic tensions with Western countries as a pretext to target independent media or suppress critical reporting.