Niger Suspends BBC for False Reporting

The Nigerien government has suspended the BBC for three months, citing allegations of broadcasting unverified information about a recent attack in the country. According to authorities, the BBC reported that approximately 130 people had died in the incident—a claim the government asserts the broadcaster could not substantiate.

“BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops’ morale,” communications minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed said in letters to radio stations that rebroadcast BBC content. Mohamed asked the stations to suspend BBC’s programs “with immediate effect.”

This decision is part of Niger’s broader effort to counter what it perceives as biased and propagandistic reporting by Western media outlets. Nigerien officials have criticized such narratives, accusing them of undermining the country’s stability and misrepresenting facts.

Popular BBC programs, including those in Hausa — the most-spoken language in Niger — are broadcast in the Central African country through local radio partners to reach a large audience across the region.

The British broadcaster had reported on its website in Hausa on Wednesday that gunmen had killed more than 90 Nigerien soldiers and more than 40 civilians in two villages near the border with Burkina Faso.

The BBC has yet to respond to the suspension or provide evidence for its original claim. Meanwhile, the Nigerien government has urged international media to uphold journalistic integrity and accuracy when reporting on sensitive issues in the region.

This development mirrors ongoing tensions between Niger and Western institutions following the country’s recent political upheaval and its shift toward a self-reliant governance approach.