Niger’s military rulers have suspended BBC broadcasting.
Niger’s military government has suspended the BBC for three months, accusing it of spreading fake news that could destabilize social peace and demoralize troops fighting jihadists.
Niger’s Communications Minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed announced that the decision would take effect immediately.
BBC programs including Hausa and French, the most widely spoken languages in Niger, are broadcast in the country through local radio partners, reaching 2.4 million people in the country this year – about 17% of the adult population.
Although BBC Radio programs are suspended, the website is not blocked and the radio can still be accessed on shortwave.
Niger’s government did not cite any specific broadcast for the suspension, but it followed a BBC report on Tuesday about jihadist attacks in the Tillabéri region, which it said killed 91 soldiers and about 50 civilians.
The junta called these reports “baseless claims” and “a campaign of propaganda launched by the adversaries of the Nigerian people, aimed at weakening the morale of our troops and sowing division.”
The attacks were reported by multiple sources, including security blogs, which said gunmen believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State group carried out two simultaneous attacks in the village of Chatoumane.
It is said that in one of the attacks, the attackers disguised themselves as civilians and started opening fire on soldiers who were on patrol in the weekly market. The soldiers could not directly counter-attack because of the risk of collateral damage.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We stand by our journalism and will continue to report on the region without fear or favour.”
French outlets France24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) have also been suspended in Niger since it seized power in a military coup in July 2023.
One of the justifications for ousting democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 is that the junta is under pressure for failing to prevent terrorist attacks.
The government of Niger also announced plans to “file a complaint” against RFI for “incitement to genocide”.
It claimed that the RFI was a propaganda mouthpiece for the former colonial power France.
RFI described the complaint as “extravagant and outrageous” and said it was not based on any evidence.
Niger did not say where it planned to file a complaint against the RFI.
West African neighbors Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have all experienced coups in recent years. All these military-led governments have suspended foreign media at some point or the other since assuming power.
Burkina Faso even suspended BBC on this issue. Coverage of a report accusing his army of mass killings.
They are facing an insurgency made up of various jihadist groups that are active in the Sahel region of West Africa. Tillaberi, near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso, is a particularly volatile area.
The Sahel region is considered the new global hub of the Islamic State group, while al-Qaeda-linked groups also operate in the region.
three countries formed an alliance to fight Jihadists and expelled French soldiers turned to Russia and Türkiye for their security needs.
But the violence continues.
