Burkina Officials, Journalists Abducted or Missing amid Media Crackdown

October 13, 2025 – Burkina Faso – 

In mid-October 2025, a violent turn of events shook Burkina Faso’s media and justice sectors when three appellate court magistrates and two senior journalists were reported abducted or missing. The journalists affected included Ousseni Ilboudo, editor-in-chief of L’Observateur Paalga, and Michel Nana, deputy editor of Le Pays. Ilboudo was forcibly taken from his newsroom by men claiming to be intelligence officials; Nana was similarly seized while at work. Among the magistrates, two were kidnapped on Friday and Sunday, and a third has been unaccounted for since Saturday.

This wave of disappearances occurs in a context of mounting repression under the military junta that seized power in September 2022, which has consistently targeted dissenting voices, media professionals, and perceived opponents. In recent years, authorities have also deployed a controversial strategy of forcibly enrolling critics into military service, especially those in the press or civil society, to silence or control them.

Just weeks before, in September 2025, two journalists who had been missing for over a year—abducted under the earlier pattern of disappearances—were released and reunited with their families. That earlier release had raised hopes of a loosening of media repression; however, the October abductions have underscored that the climate of fear remains acute and unpredictable.

Observers and press freedom advocates have condemned the kidnappings, demanding that the military regime provide transparent information, ensure the safety of those taken, and halt retaliatory measures against the press. Meanwhile, media organizations inside the country are under extreme pressure: newsrooms have been infiltrated, associations disbanded, and editors targeted, fostering an environment of censorship and intimidation.

The targeting of both judicial officials and journalists signals a broader campaign to suppress oversight and accountability in Burkina Faso. Combined with forced conscription of dissenters, these developments paint a stark picture of state control over civic space.

Reference – 

https://www.barrons.com/news/burkina-magistrates-journalists-kidnapped-missing-sources-e9183101

https://www.spacewar.com/afp/251013164335.3vfti3fi.html