On Thursday, December 12, 2024, Niger’s Minister of Communication, Posts, and Digital Economy, Sidi Mohamed Raliou, announced the suspension of the BBC’s programs and broadcast platforms for three months within Niger.
Nigerian authorities accuse the BBC of spreading false information aimed at destabilizing social order and undermining the morale of the troops. As a result, the minister ordered the immediate suspension of the British broadcaster’s programs and the disconnection of all its broadcast and reception platforms across the country. It is worth noting that French media outlets, France 24 and RFI, have also been suspended in Niger under similar circumstances.
The decision was made during a Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the President of the CNSP, General Abdourahamane Tiani. An official statement clarified that Niger would file a complaint against Radio France Internationale (RFI) for incitement to genocide and intercommunal massacres within its territory.
The Council’s statement indicated that, in contrast to news coverage, a widespread disinformation campaign is being conducted by RFI, involving crude fabrications with genocidal undertones. According to the authorities, the goal of this propaganda is to sow division among the population by creating feelings of communal rejection, while pursuing harmful ends. To achieve this, RFI is accused of complicity in using stateless individuals to relay destabilization operations.
The statement also condemned the dissemination of images of burned villages on social media, reminiscent of the horrors of the colonial period, claiming that this disinformation campaign serves to incite massacres and genocide, similar to what has occurred in other countries. The Council of Ministers stressed that these actions could lead to criminal prosecution.
In a statement broadcast on national television on December 11, 2024, Nigerien authorities denied reports of terrorist attacks in the Téra region that allegedly killed 43 soldiers the previous week, as well as 91 other soldiers and 47 civilians this week. According to the authorities, these claims are false information spread on social media by enemies of the Nigerien people, aimed at undermining the morale of the defense and security forces (FDS) and sowing division between the population and the national armed forces.