Since the military coup of July 2023, Niger’s human rights environment has continued to deteriorate significantly. In 2025, the military junta kept repressing political opponents, dissidents, unionists, and journalists. Authorities continued to arbitrarily detain former President Mohamed Bazoum and his wife, officials from the ousted government, as well as journalists and human rights activists.
Niger continues to battle Islamist armed groups, including the Islamic State in the Sahel (IS Sahel), the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen, or JNIM), as well as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in its western and southeastern regions. Fighting in the western Tillabéri region and other areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso has escalated, putting civilians at increased risk.
In August, the junta began an initiative known in Hausa as “Garkuwar Kassa” (Shields of the Homeland), to recruit and train civilians to assist the armed forces, raising concerns about the creation of abusive militias.
In March, military junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani was sworn in as the country's transitional president without elections, in a move further solidifying his grip on power, and delaying the return to democratic rule. Tiani also signed a decree abolishing multiparty politics across the country.
In January, the junta left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), along with Mali and Burkina Faso, limiting opportunities for its citizens to seek justice through the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. In September, the three states announced they would leave the International Criminal Court, which will jeopardize access to justice for victims of atrocity crimes.
Abuses by Islamist Armed Groups
An Islamist insurgency, which broke out in northern Mali in 2012 before spreading to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015, has resulted in widespread abuses in Niger for more than a decade.
In 2025, IS Sahel escalated attacks against civilians in the tri-border area, in Niger’s Tillabéri region, bordering Burkina Faso and Mali, summarily executing hundreds of villagers and Muslim worshipers and burning and looting dozens of homes.
On March 21, IS Sahel fighters attacked a mosque in Fambita village, Tillabéri region, killing at least 46 worshippers, including 3 children, who were attending the afternoon prayer. They also looted livestock and homes in the village and burned at least 20 homes, as well as several shops in the market.
On May 13, IS Sahel fighters attacked Dani Fari, a hamlet in Tillabéri region, and killed five men and two boys. They also burned at least 12 homes and looted dozens of others.
On June 21, Islamist fighters attacked a mosque in Manda village, Tillabéri region, killing over 70 worshippers, including 5 children, who were attending the morning prayer. They also looted homes in the village and burned at least 10 of them.
On June 20, IS Sahel fighters entered the hamlet of Abarkaize, Tillabéri region, and executed its 67-year-old chief. Three days later, they returned and kidnapped five men. Residents found the bodies of the five men, their throats slit, on the outskirts of the hamlet on June 23.
On June 23, IS Sahel fighters killed at least six civilian men in the hamlet of Ezzak, Tillabéri region, and looted homes.
Before each attack, IS Sahel fighters had threatened residents, accusing them of collaborating with the Nigerien army or of disregarding the fighters’ demands, including not to pay the zakat (Islamic tax). Survivors of these incidents reported that the Nigerien army did not adequately respond to warnings of attacks, ignoring villagers’ requests for protection.
Crackdown on Opposition and Dissent
Since the July 2023 coup, Bazoum and his wife have been detained at the presidential palace in Niamey, the capital, with no access to family members or lawyers. Bazoum could face a trial after the junta lifted his presidential immunity in 2024 following proceedings that failed to meet due process standards. In February, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent expert body that investigates cases of deprivation of liberty, found that the detention of Bazoum and his wife was arbitrary and called for their immediate release.
Since the coup, the junta arbitrarily arrested scores of officials from the ousted government, including former ministers, members of the presidential cabinet, and people close to Bazoum, failing to provide them due process and fair trial rights. In April, the junta released about 50 people from prison, including several former government officials, military officers, and a journalist who had been arrested following the coup. Several others, however, still languish behind bars on politically motivated charges, including prominent human rights activist and critic of the junta, Moussa Tiangari.
Tiangari was arrested at his home in Niamey on December 3, 2024, and his whereabouts were unknown for two days. On December 5, 2024, lawyers located him at Niger’s Central Service for Combating Terrorism and Organized Transnational Crime. On January 3, the Niamey High Court charged him with “criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist enterprise” and “plotting against the authority of the state through intelligence with enemy powers,” among other offenses. If convicted of plotting with enemy powers, he could face the death penalty. Since then, he remains in pretrial detention, and his case has not come before a judge. On July 4, a court in Niamey rejected an appeal filed by Tiangari’s lawyers to get the politically motivated case against him dismissed.
Crackdown on Freedom of Expression and Association
Since the 2023 coup, media freedom has been severely restricted. The authorities have threatened, harassed, and arbitrarily arrested journalists. Many reported self-censoring amid fear of reprisals.
In a January 17 decree, Niger’s communication minister suspended the private television channel Canal 3 TV for 30 days after the channel broadcast a show in which its editor-in-chief, Seyni Amadou, commented on the performance of Niger’s ministers. The communication minister also suspended Amadou’s press card. Three days later, however, the minister announced the suspensions were lifted.
In February 2025, the military authorities ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross to leave Niger without explanation.
On May 8, security forces detained three journalists from Sahara FM radio, based in the northern city of Agadez, accusing them of reporting on a media article about the alleged termination of security cooperation between Niger, Russia, and Turkey. The following day, a judge ordered their release, but security forces arrested the journalists again on May 9. They remain in detention.
In August, Gen. Mohamed Toumba, Niger’s interior minister, signed four decrees dissolving four justice sector unions, undermining workers’ rights to freedom of association and the independence of the judiciary. While the decrees did not explain the dissolutions, on August 8, Niger’s justice minister, Alio Daouda, said the unions had "deviated” from their roles and prioritized “private interests.” In response, the umbrella union for public sector workers described the move as “a grave violation of workers’ fundamental rights and freedoms,” and called on the government to reverse its decision. The Niger Bar Association condemned the dissolutions and demanded their unconditional reinstatement. Lawyers also staged a two‑day general strike in protest.