Niger Junta Strips Exiled Opposition Leader Mariama Djibrine of Nationality
Niger’s military authorities provisionally stripped exiled opposition leader Mariama Djibrine of her nationality on June 11, intensifying a sweeping crackdown on political dissent under junta leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani. According to Human Rights Watch, the decree relies on a controversial 2024 counterterrorism order, marking the latest escalation in a campaign targeting critics of the military government that seized power in July 2023.
Decree Targets Opposition Leader Over Terrorism Database Order
The military authorities accuse Djibrine of disseminating information likely to disturb public order, inciting revolt, and colluding with a foreign power. Those accusations stem from a 2024 government order establishing a national database for individuals suspected of terrorism, a mechanism that rights monitors report is routinely used to strip opponents of their citizenship without sufficient evidence. Djibrine serves as president of the Alliance des Démocrates du Sahel, a coalition uniting opposition figures from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Launched in May 2026 in Belgium, the alliance advocates for a return to constitutional rule across the three central Sahel nations and has publicly demanded the release of ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who remains arbitrarily detained.
Broader Pattern of Statelessness and Dissident Crackdowns
Djibrine joins a growing list of exiled figures targeted by the Niamey government through the counterterrorism database. In October 2024, authorities similarly stripped nine individuals linked to former President Bazoum of their Nigerien nationality, including former cabinet member Abdou Pagoui Hamidine. Hamidine told Human Rights Watch that Niger’s military authorities reached a new low by turning nationality into a weapon against dissent. Prior to the latest decree, Djibrine appeared on a French television program in May, where she condemned the junta for instrumentalizing the judicial system and dissolving the Nigerien magistrates’ union.
Legal Obligations and International Conventions
Legal experts note that Niger is a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which explicitly prohibits governments from stripping individuals of citizenship if doing so renders them stateless. Human Rights Watch warns that these measures create an environment of profound fear for journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens, forcing them to weigh their right to free speech against the existential threat of losing their civic status, identity, and security.