On January 23, 2026, Gazali Abdou Tasawa, a correspondent for the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), was jailed in the Nigerian capital, Niamey.
The previous day, Tasawa was questioned by police about his January 15 report on Nigerian refugees who said they were sleeping in the open by a cemetery after police demolished their informal shelters.
DW told CPJ that it had not been informed of the charges against Tasawa, the outlet’s Hausa-language correspondent.
On January 20, a delegation from the Nigerian embassy visited Niger’s foreign affairs ministry to discuss the situation of about 1,300 Nigerians refugees in Niamey, following “unfounded rumors circulating on social media,” the ministry said.
Since a 2023 coup, Niger has been ruled by military authorities led by Abdourahamane Tiani, who regularly accuses Nigeria of plotting to destabilize Niger.
The junta introduced legal reforms and increased detentions, contributing to Niger becoming Africa’s third worst jailer of journalists, along with Rwanda and Ethiopia, in CPJ’s 2025 annual prison census, with five journalists behind bars on December 1. This marked an all-time high on the census for Niger, which had previously had not featured in the count since 2017.
CPJ's late January calls to request comment from the Ministry of Justice went unanswered.