A court in Niamey has sentenced Nigerien-Ivorian journalist Serge Mathurin Adou to two years in prison for allegedly “violating the security” of neighbouring Burkina Faso, according to sources who spoke to AFP on Monday.
Adou’s conviction highlights an escalating crackdown on dissent, press freedom, and civil society across the Sahel, where Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali all governed by military juntas now operate under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Adou disappeared on September 1 in Niamey after telling his wife he had been summoned by the police. Weeks later, Burkina Faso’s Security Minister, Mahamadou Sana, publicly accused him of participating in an alleged “plot” and “several attempts to destabilise” the junta in Ouagadougou.
The journalist was brought before the prosecutor on November 11 and charged with “violating the security of the state.” He was subsequently remanded at the civil prison in Birni N’Gaouré, southwest of Niamey, according to Ivory Coast’s honorary consul, Victor Akpro Akesse.
A source close to the case said Adou was handed a two-year prison term on Friday a detail later confirmed by another source linked to the journalist.
Adou, who has lived in Niger for about 20 years, is known for his work with the private broadcaster Canal 3 in Niamey.
The case comes amid worsening diplomatic tensions between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, which deteriorated further after Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in Burkina Faso in September 2022.
Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over shrinking civic space in the Sahel, warning that journalists and activists have increasingly come under threat from military governments seeking to silence criticism.
