RSF - Reporters sans frontières

10/13/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/14/2025 09:25

Alarming resurgence of journalist arrests in Burkina Faso

Ousséni Ilboudo, managing editor of the newspaper L'Observateur Paalga, and Michel Wendpouiré Nana, deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Pays, were arrested on the morning of 13 October in their respective newsrooms in Ouagadougou, the country's capital. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this alarming upsurge in journalist arrests and calls for the immediate release of Ousséni Ilboudo, Michel Wendpouiré Nana and all their arbitrarily detained fellow journalists.

After two months marked by six releases, the brief respite for journalists in Burkina Faso appears to have ended.

According to RSF information, three men identifying themselves as members of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) arrived at Le Paysheadquarters, located in the 1,200 Logements district of Ouagadougou, around 9 a.m. They asked to see Michel Wendpouiré Nana, who was in an editorial meeting, and took him to an unknown destination. The ANR then repeated this scene at L'Observateur Paalga's office. According to a statementissued by the newspaper, Ousséni Ilboudo"complied with the order and was immediately taken away in a van" by ANR agents as he was about to lead a newsroom meeting.

The reasons for these two arrests have not been made public. The Minister of Communication, Pingdwendé Gilbert Ouédraogo, did not respond to RSF requests for comment.

"The recent wave of journalist releases - following months of forced conscription into the Burkinabè army - sparked cautious optimism, but the abduction of Michel Wendpouiré Nana and Ousséni Ilboudo, two respected figures in journalism, has abruptly ended hopes that the repression against the press had subsided. Their arrests, carried out inside their own newsrooms, send yet another disturbing signal to all news professionals in the country. Now, it seems like nothing can restrain the military authorities from continuing to dismantle press freedom. RSF condemns these arrests in the strongest possible terms and demands the immediate release of Michel Wendpouiré Nana, Ousséni Ilboudo and all detained journalists, including Serge Oulon."

Sadibou Marong
Director, RSF Sub-Saharan Africa

The situation for journalists in Burkina Faso has deteriorated sharply since Ibrahim Traoré came to power in September 2022. Arrests, forced military conscriptions, media suspensions and the enforcement of "patriotic" news coverage have created a repressive climate unmatched in the region. Although six journalists were releasedin the summer of 2025, Atiana Serge Oulon, publisher of the investigative newspaper L'Événement, is reportedly still in the military after being forcibly conscriptedby the authorities in June 2024.

AFRICA
Burkina Faso
Découvrir le pays
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105/ 180
Score : 52.25
Published on13.10.2025
  • AFRICA
  • Burkina Faso
  • Arbitrary detention and proceedings
  • News
  • Director or publisher
  • Editor-in-chief
  • Abduction
  • Arbitrary detention
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