On July 9, members from Niger’s Criminal Investigative Department (CID) arrested Kaka Touda Mamane Goni, a journalist with the Alternative bi-weekly in Niger.
Goni was taken into the custody of the CID regarding an interview he gave to a local private television station. In the said interview, Goni condemned leakages of a local academic examination, the baccalauréat. He blamed the leakage on the “laxity on the part of the authorities” in charge of organizing the examinations.
The MFWA’s correspondent in Niger reported that on the same day Goni was arrested, the CID also arrested civil society actor Siradji Issa, who is the President of the Youth Movement for the Emergence of Niger (Mouvement des Jeunes pour l’Emergence du Niger -MOJEN).
Issa’s arrest followed a complaint lodged by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdoulkarim Dan Mallam, who accused Issa of libelling, defaming and insulting him.
According to our correspondent, on July, 5, 2015, Issa issued a press statement in which he criticised Mallam for suspending nine national sports associations and accused him of mismanaging the revolt of the players of national team players were reluctant to collect their match allowances.
