Niger: lawyer Abdourahamane Lirwana jailed over a Facebook post on the army
Lawyer and human rights defender Abdourahamane Lirwana has been jailed in Niamey, the latest sign that Niger’s authorities are escalating their use of the courts against critical voices.
What happened to Me Lirwana
Me Lirwana was summoned to the judicial police directorate in Niamey on 21 September 2026 and taken into custody. He appeared before the public prosecutor the next day and was committed to Niamey prison.
He faces a charge of “disseminating data likely to disturb public order” under Article 31 of the cybercrime ordinance — a provision that carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
The Facebook post at the centre of the case
The only act he is accused of is a Facebook post published on 12 September in which he shared his thoughts on the situation and morale of the Nigerien army.
Me Lirwana is a lawyer, a human rights defender and an active member of the Patriotic Movement for Responsible Citizenship (MPCR). His arrest is not a routine procedure; it is a direct attack on the legal profession, a blow to the rule of law and an arbitrary show of force.
A wider crackdown on civic space
This jailing fits a pattern of systematic pressure on civic space in Niger. For more than a year, arbitrary detentions and prosecutions of civil society figures and media professionals have multiplied, including proceedings against well-known journalists and activists.
The trend runs counter to Niger’s international commitments, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial.
Call for immediate release
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) has firmly condemned the judicial harassment. Silence in the face of such tactics amounts to consent.
Me Lirwana has committed no crime: he exercised his constitutional right to freedom of expression. The Nigerien judicial and political authorities must release him immediately and unconditionally, drop all charges against him and guarantee full respect for the work of human rights defenders in the country.
