Niger - December 2024

On 12 December, Niger’s military junta suspended the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) radio broadcasts in the country for three months, citing its alleged role in disseminating information that could “destabilize social order and demoralize the military”. BBC programmes, aired via local radio partners in Hausa and French, reached a wide audience. While authorities provided no further details of their allegations, the suspension follows BBC reports on jihadist attacks in the Tillabéri region in early December, which reportedly left 91 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians dead. Though radio broadcasts are suspended, the BBC website remains accessible, and shortwave transmissions continue. The decision expands previous media restrictions on domestic as well as French outlets such as France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI). Press freedom groups condemned the suspension, warning of increasing repression of independent journalism under military rule.

Sources: Le Sahel, British Broadcasting Corporation, The Associated Press, The International Federation of Journalists