Niger’s top investigative journalist wins 2024 International Press Award

-

 


CPJ is honored to present its 2024 International Press Freedom Award to Nigerien journalist Samira Sabou.


Samira Sabou is one of Niger’s most prominent investigative journalists, who publishes mainly on her Facebook page and is the president of the Association of Bloggers for Active Citizenship (ABCA), an organization that advocates for freedom of expression and the rights of women and youth. Previously, she worked as a consultant for the Croissance Actualité Afrique (C2A) newspaper, directed the Economic and Social Development Information Magazine (MIDES) news website, and reported with the state-owned National Office of Publishing and Press (ONEP).


Throughout her prestigious career, Sabou has been arrested, detained, and subjected to years of legal harassment because of her reporting on governance issues. In response to the various legal proceedings brought against her, she stopped working for the media and only publishes on her social media accounts.


In July 2023, the Nigerien military seized control of the government in a coup, overthrowing the democratically elected president. In September 2023, four men in plainclothes arrested Sabou without warning at her mother’s home. She was held by the men in an unknown location for eight days and then delivered to the judicial police, where she was able to contact her lawyer. Eleven days after being arrested on suspicion of maintaining “intelligence with a foreign power” and espionage, Sabou was provisionally released. The case is ongoing, though the espionage allegation was subsequently dropped.


Separately, in January 2022, Sabou and another Nigerien investigative journalist, Moussa Aksar, were convicted for violating the cybercrime law. Their appeal of the case is still pending. In 2020, Sabou was arrested on cybercrime charges and spent 48 days in detention while she was pregnant. This case also remains open. The challenges Sabou faces in continuing to cover Niger are similar to those faced by journalists across the Sahel, working under post-coup governments and in a context of insecurity.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular OP posts

‘Industrial Scale’ Foreign Disinformation Campaigns Fuel Anger, Confusion

-
Image
Dai Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave during the welcoming ceremony of an economic summit. Disinformation campaigns seeking to manipulate African information systems have increased nearly fourfold since 2022. That is according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), which linked disinformation campaigns to increased violence, support for coups, expanded anti-Western rhetoric and the spread of confusion about health care. These campaigns also work to erode confidence in traditional media sources. Nearly 60% of disinformation campaigns in Africa are linked to countries outside the continent. The efforts, aided by emerging technology, are mostly driven by Russia, although China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also push false narratives as they seek to spread their influence. Such contrived narratives are flourishing as Africa now has more than 400 million active social media users and 600 million internet users. ...
Read more

Journalists trained on conflict sensitive reporting of TRRC Implementation reports

-
Image
  The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in partnership with the International Idea through the support from the European Union (EU) on Tuesday concluded a two day comprehensive training for Press Editors' and Journalists on conflict sensitive media coverage of the Implementation of The Government's White Paper on the TRRC Recommendations. The event held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Kerr Serign, brought together media editors' and journalists to acquire requisite knowledge on the implementation reports of the TRRC Recommendations.  Jainaba Faye, Head Of Country Office, International Idea highlighted the significance of the training, whils urging journalists to treat victims with dignity, respect and compassion when reporting on conflict sensitive reporting. “It is important to note that every story you report has a human face behind it.  This is especially true when it comes to victims of crime or human rights abuses.  Victim and conflict ...
Read more

GPU trains journalists on migration reporting

-
Image
 The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in partnership with the International Federation Of Journalists (IFJ) and support from the European Union (EU) on Thursday 28, November 2024 trained community radio journalists from various media houses. The event was held at the Wallymann Hotel, North Bank Region. The two day capacity building training was aimed at equipping journalists with comprehensive knowledge on migration trends, and its impacts across communities. Sainey Dibba, Manager Farafenni community radio highlighted the significance of the training for Journalists in the North Bank. He further commended the Gambia Press Union for initiating the training. Isatou Keita, the Vice President of the Gambia Press Union equally spoke on the importance of the training. She urged the participants to utilize the knowledge gained from the training. Papa Tunkara, Chairman Kerewan Area Council (KAC). said migration is not only a local or regional problem but an international phenomenon with overwhelmi...
Read more