At the end of the interrogation to which he was subjected, Soumana Idrissa Maiga is accused of “undermining state security by allegedly disclosing national defense secrets through the press.” It is, in fact, an article published by the French newspaper ”Figaro” which was used with reservations by L’Enquêteur. As soon as the alert of the arrest of the publishing director was released on social networks, reactions of condemnation began to flow.
In a press release issued on Friday April 26, the director of the Collective of socio-professional organizations of private media in Niger declared that he strongly condemned the preventive detention in the premises of the Niamey judicial police of our colleague Soumana Idrissa Maiga in flagrant violation of the provisions of Order 2010-35 of June 4, 2010 governing freedom of the press and Order 93-31 of March 30, 2013 relating to audiovisual communication.
For the Collective office, this is a real Source of concern because it reflects “threats of calling into question the hard-won achievements of socio-professional media organizations in terms of press freedom and ‘expression”.
Also, he demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of our colleague and strict respect for the texts governing the exercise of the profession of journalism in Niger”, inviting all colleagues to close ranks to defend press freedom in Niger.
Transparency International also expressed ”its deep concern following the arrest of Mr. Soumana Idrissa Maiga, publishing director of the newspaper L’Enquêteur, arrested on April 25, 2024 by the Judicial Police,” in a press release released on Friday.
”According to information received, Mr. Maiga was arrested in connection with an article published in his newspaper, which cited an external Source regarding the alleged installation of listening devices on public buildings. It is essential to emphasize that Mr. Maiga did not make these allegations himself, but rather asked questions based on an article in the newspaper Le Figaro,” the organization said, citing the case of ‘Ousmane Mamane Toudou, another journalist, arrested several days ago for calling for the defense of democracy. ”He is currently being held in the premises of the national gendarmerie. We condemn all these arrests and call for the immediate release of journalists Ousmane Mamane Toudou and Soumana Idrissa Maiga,” demanded the organization, recalling that freedom of the press is a fundamental right guaranteed by all international legal instruments relating to human rights. of Man ratified by Niger.
”Journalists must be able to exercise their profession without fear of reprisals, especially when they echo legitimate concerns in the public interest,” reads the press release from Transparency International, which says it is closely following this affair and reaffirms its solidarity with its commitment “towards the defense of democracy in general and freedom of the press in particular”.
Tawèye (The New Republican)
