The BBC is Suspended by Niger for “spreading false news” Following an Incident

Authorities in Niger announced Thursday that the BBC would be suspended for three months for its coverage of an extremist attack that claimed the lives of dozens of Nigerien soldiers and civilians.

To radio stations that rebroadcast BBC news, communications minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed wrote, “BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops’ morale.” Mohamed requested that BBC programming be halted “with immediate effect” by the stations. Regarding the suspension, the BBC stated that it had nothing to say.

In order to reach a wide audience throughout the region, popular BBC programs—including those in Hausa, the most widely spoken language in Niger—are aired in the Central African nation through local radio partners.

For more than ten years, jihadi groups, including those affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, have been fighting an insurgency in Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali. The ruling juntas in all three countries have resorted to Russian mercenary groups for security support after expelling French forces in the wake of military takeovers in recent years.

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