Niger frees journalist Serge Mathurin Adou after 2 years

Nigerien-Ivorian journalist Serge Mathurin Adou was released on Wednesday after serving a two-year prison sentence for threatening state security in a case linked to alleged efforts to destabilise Burkina Faso.

A representative of the Ivorian community in Niamey said Adou was released at 9:00 am and had returned home. Another associate said Adou had been released, and Canal 3, the private Nigerien TV channel where he worked, confirmed the release.

Adou disappeared in Niamey in September 2024 after telling his wife he had been summoned by police. Weeks later, Burkina Faso's security minister Mahamadou Sana accused him of involvement in an alleged plot and several attempts to destabilise Burkina Faso.

Adou was charged in November 2024 with threatening state security and held in pre-trial detention at a provincial prison before being sentenced to two years in jail in November 2025.

Adou is originally from Ivory Coast and has lived in Niger for about 20 years.