Idrissa Soumana Maïga, the director of the private daily newspaper “L’Enquêteur,” was apprehended in the afternoon of Thursday, April 23rd, by agents of the judicial police. According to his lawyer, Maïga was held for questioning for several hours yesterday, Friday, April 26th, on charges of endangering state security.
His newspaper, “L’Enquêteur,” stands accused of publishing information alleging the “presumed installation of listening devices by Russian agents on Nigerien government buildings,” a report sourced from the French daily, Le Figaro.
Noël Yao, president of the Union of Journalists of Free African Press (UJPLA), along with various Nigerien press organizations, has strongly condemned Maïga’s detention, asserting that it violates established regulations governing the sector. They collectively demand his immediate release.
“The Right of Reply”
“L’UJPLA denounces the arrest of our colleague in Niger and urgently calls for his release so that he may continue his journalistic activities,” Noël Yao stated. “The information was provided by Le Figaro, and as you know, in our profession, there is what we call the right of reply. If the information is deemed inaccurate, it is important that the accused party, in this case, the Nigerien authorities, be allowed to respond”.
Returning to the “Fundamentals of the Profession”
“There is a system of press regulation, but there should not be arrests and detentions of journalists. A journalist’s place is in the newsroom, not in a prison cell,” Yao emphasized. “UJPLA denounces and condemns this blatant and foolish criminalization of the press, and therefore calls for a return to the fundamentals of the profession, plain and simple.”
The detention of Idrissa Soumana Maïga has ignited widespread concern among press freedom advocates, underscoring the importance of safeguarding journalistic independence and ensuring the unhindered pursuit of truth in Niger and beyond.