Niger's military government has suspended the BBC for three months, accusing it of spreading fake news that could destabilize social peace and demoralize forces fighting jihadists.
Nigerian Communications Minister Raliu Sidi Mohammed announced that the decision would take effect immediately.
BBC programmes, including Hausa, the most spoken language in Niger, and French, are broadcast in the country through local radio partners, reaching 2.4 million people in the country this year – around 17% of the adult population.
Although BBC radio programs have been suspended, the website has not been blocked and shortwave radio can still be accessed.
Niger's government did not cite a specific broadcast for the suspension, but it followed BBC reports on jihadist attacks in the Tillaberi region on Tuesday, which were said to have killed 91 soldiers and about 50 civilians.
The junta described these reports as “baseless allegations” and “a poisoning campaign organized by enemies of the Nigerian people with the aim of undermining the morale of our forces and sowing division.”
The attacks were reported by multiple sources, including security blogs, which said the militants, believed to be allied with ISIS, launched two simultaneous attacks in the village of Chateaumane.
In one attack, the attackers reportedly disguised themselves as civilians and opened fire on soldiers patrolling the weekly market. The soldiers were unable to directly return fire due to the risk of collateral damage.
A BBC spokesman said: “We stand by our journalism and will continue to report on the region without fear or favour.”
French outlets, France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), have also been suspended in Niger since the military seized power in a coup in July 2023.
The military council is under pressure for its failure to curb militant attacks, which is one of its justifications for toppling democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.
The Nigerien government also announced plans to “file a complaint” against RFI for “incitement to genocide.”
It claimed that Radio France Internationale was a propaganda mouthpiece for the former colonial power France.
RFI described the complaint as “exaggerated and defamatory” and said it was not based on any evidence.
Niger has not said where it intends to file the complaint against RFI.
The neighboring countries in West Africa, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, have witnessed coups in recent years. All of these military-led governments have shut down foreign media at some point since taking power.
Burkina Faso also suspended the BBC over this Coverage of a report accusing its army of committing mass killings.
They are facing an insurgency made up of various jihadist groups operating across the Sahel region of West Africa. Tillaberi is a particularly volatile region, near the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.
The Sahel region is considered the new global center of ISIS, while groups linked to Al-Qaeda are also active in the region.
The three countries They formed an alliance to fight The jihadists expelled the French forces, turning to Russia and Turkey instead to meet their security needs.
But the violence continued.
