Two Nigerien journalists, Youssouf Seriba, Publishing Director of Les Échos du Niger, and Oumarou Kané, founder of Le Hérisson, have been released from Kollo Prison by the judicial police after spending eight months in detention.
The two journalists were arrested on October 30, 2025, along with four other journalists and the driver of one of the journalists.
On November 3, 2025, the seven individuals were brought before the public prosecutor. The driver was released without charge and three of the journalists, Moussa Kaka, Souleyman Brah and Abdoul Aziz were released the same day and placed under judicial supervision.
The remaining three journalists; Oumarou Kané, Youssouf Seriba, and Ibro Chaibou, the newsroom manager of Saraounia TV were kept in detention at Kollo Prison and later charged with “complicity in disseminating a document likely to disturb public order,” under Niger’s Cybercrime Law.
They were prosecuted for “complicity in disseminating a document likely to disturb public order,” a charge brought under Niger’s Cybercrime Law.
The alleged offence stems from the circulation of an official invitation to a press briefing about the Solidarity Fund for the Protection of the Homeland: a public fund established by the military authorities to collect citizen donations in support of national defence.
The invitation, originally sent to Saraounia TV, appeared online and was later shared by activists.
In June 2026, the MFWA expressed concerns about the prolonged detention of the three journalists and called for their immediate release and for the charges to be dropped.
While the MFWA welcomes the release of Youssouf Seriba and Oumarou Kané, we condemn the continuous detention of Ibro Chaibou. We reiterate our call to the Nigerien authorities to release Chaibou and drop all charges against him. We further urge the authorities to ensure that laws, including those on cybercrime, are not misused to stifle dissenting voices.
