Africa: Niger - FAJ Calls for Urgent Investigations Over Missing Journalist

According to information available to FAJ, Kaka left the RTS offices in the capital, Niamey, at around 7 p.m. on 31 August 2026 to return home but never arrived . His family and colleagues have been unable to contact him, and his vehicle is also reported missing. More than a month later, no public account has established where he is or what happened to him.

FAJ has received reports from local sources that Kaka may be held incommunicado at a premises used by State Intelligence, which warrants an urgent and independent investigation. The authorities must clarify whether he is in state custody and, if detained, grant him immediate access to his family and lawyer and secure his release. No one should be held in secret or forced to disappear outside the protection of national and international laws.

Kaka's disappearance followed his arrest with five other journalists in October 2025 over a social media post relating to a press conference about a government solidarity fund. Furthermore, his disappearance came just days after an attempted coup in Niamey, amid heightened political and security tensions and mounting pressure on journalists and the media in general. These circumstances make a transparent investigation even more urgent, while the facts and responsibility remain to be established swiftly.

FAJ President, Omar Faruk Osman, said that journalist Moussa Kaka must never be made to disappear for doing his journalistic work or serving the public's right to know. "The authorities in Niger have a duty to tell his family where he is, account for what has happened and secure his immediate release. There can be no security justification for secret detention, intimidation or the silencing of a journalist. A society cannot protect its people by denying them their right to know the truth."

The Pan-African Federation of Journalists stands in solidarity with Kaka's family, his colleagues at RTS and journalists across Niger, and urges the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) to intervene without delay, press for his safe return and ensure that his case is not allowed to disappear from public attention.

For more Information, please contact the IFJ - Africa Office

1st Floor, Maison de la Presse, 5 Rue X Corniche, Medina,

BP 64257, Dakar, Senegal

Tel: +221- 33 867 95 86/87; Fax: +221- 33 827 02

Read the original article on IFJ.