On February 17, 2026, Abdou Nguer, a columnist for SEN TV, was taken into custody after responding to a summons from the Colobane Investigation Office in Dakar. The summons followed statements he made contesting a press release issued by Senegal’s Ministry of Justice on February 14 concerning the death of a student at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD).
On February 9, 2026, Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year dental surgery student at UCAD, died during violent clashes between students and law enforcement officers amid protests on the university campus in Dakar.
Student organisations alleged that Ba had been severely beaten by police officers who had entered the campus to disperse protesters. However, a statement issued by the Ministry of Justice on February 14 said that, based on evidence gathered in the ongoing investigation, “rumours of physical violence against the victim have not proven to be true.”
Nguer publicly challenged this conclusion during a programme broadcast on the YouTube channel Dakar TV. During the broadcast, he stated that the Collective of Doctors, Pharmacists, and Dental Surgeons in Specialisation in Senegal (COMES) had disputed the version presented by the prosecutor and had called for further clarification regarding the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
On February 18, 2026, Nguer was brought before the public prosecutor and charged with spreading false information. He was remanded in custody and was scheduled to appear before the Dakar court on February 20. The hearing was later postponed until March 20, 2026, and Nguer will remain in detention until the next hearing after the judge declined to allow his lawyers to request bail.
This is not the first time Nguer has faced prosecution over comments made on television. On April 14, 2025, he was arrested after being summoned by the Colobane Police Division in connection with a TikTok post calling for an autopsy on Mamadou Badio Camara, the late President of Senegal’s Constitutional Council.
Authorities initially alleged that Nguer authored the post, which they considered disrespectful and likely to provoke public disorder. Nguer denied involvement, explaining that the post appeared on an account he did not control. Police investigations later identified another individual, Pape Amadou Ndiaye Diaw, as the owner of the account and the author of the post.
Despite this, both men were placed in custody and later charged with spreading false news, insulting the Head of State, and promoting crime or misdemeanour. In a ruling delivered on November 12, 2025, the court acquitted them of spreading false news and promoting crime but convicted Nguer of insulting the Head of State. He was sentenced to six months in prison, including three months to be served, and fined 200,000 CFA francs (about USD 320). Having already spent seven months in preventive detention, he was released immediately.
Nguer’s latest arrest comes only four months after his release and occurs amid growing concern about the use of criminal charges against media commentators in Senegal. Modou Fall, another Sen TV commentator, is currently in detention and awaiting a court decision on similar charges.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is concerned about the detention of Abdou Nguer and the use of criminal sanctions in response to commentary on matters of public interest. The MFWA urges the Senegalese authorities to ensure that journalists and commentators are not subjected to criminal prosecution and custodial sentencing for expressing opinions or raising questions about public issues.
