In Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger, military authorities are using forced disappearances as a systematic tool to silence dissent and suppress civil society. According to the latest findings from human rights organizations, security forces and defense units are increasingly relying on unlawful detentions and abductions to curb opposition voices and stifle criticism of governing regimes.
In Guinea, the crisis deepened on July 9, 2024, when two prominent activists—Mamadou Billo Bah and Oumar Sylla (also known as “Foniké Menguè”)—were forcibly taken from Oumar Sylla’s home the night before a major protest against rising living costs and the demand for a return to civilian rule. According to the testimony of Mohamed Cissé, another detained activist who was released two days later with severe injuries, both men were allegedly transferred by state security personnel to a secret detention site on the Loos Islands, off the coast of Conakry. Despite mounting evidence, authorities continue to deny their detention, leaving their fate unresolved.
Silencing civil society through fear and intimidation
Across West Africa, military-led governments are targeting civil society members—including journalists, lawyers, activists, and human rights defenders—through coordinated campaigns of forced disappearances and unlawful arrests. Victims are often abducted in broad daylight, from their homes or workplaces, by armed individuals who may or may not identify themselves as state agents. They are then blindfolded, transported in unmarked vehicles, and held in undisclosed locations for days, weeks, or even longer, outside any judicial framework. No arrest warrants are presented; authorities deny involvement or refuse to disclose information about detainees’ whereabouts. Families and legal representatives are left in the dark, often learning only later that their loved ones were held in informal detention sites such as security service offices. This deliberate opacity creates an environment of fear, deterring others from speaking out against the regime.
The pattern is chilling: no due process, no accountability, no justice. The goal is clear—to instill terror within civil society and suppress any challenge to military authority.
An ever-growing list of the missing and illegally detained
The practice has already claimed numerous victims. In Burkina Faso, human rights lawyer and co-founder of Balai Citoyen, Guy Hervé Kam, was unlawfully detained for five months in 2024. In March 2025, five senior members of the political movement Sens—which had publicly condemned civilian massacres linked to the armed conflict—were abducted by armed civilians claiming to be security forces. Authorities have remained silent despite urgent appeals from the movement. Four journalists—Serge Oulon, Adama Bayala, Kalifara Séré, and Alain Traoré (“Alain Alain”)—were forcibly taken in June and July 2024. In October 2024, authorities finally announced that three had been conscripted into the military under a general mobilization decree, while the fourth remains unaccounted for.
In Niger, investigative journalist and blogger Samira Sabou vanished for a week in September 2023 after being arrested at her home. Similarly, Moussa Tchangari, Secretary-General of Alternatives Espaces Citoyens, was illegally detained; his lawyers were only informed of his location two days later, after he was transferred to police custody.
In Mali, Ibrahim Nabi Togola, president of the opposition party Nouvelle Vision pour le Mali, was abducted in December 2024 by suspected state security agents. He was held incommunicado for 45 days before being released. In Guinea, journalist Habib Marouane Camara was seized on December 3, 2024, by armed men identified by witnesses as gendarmes. He has not been seen since.
Can the judiciary stand against authoritarian repression?
In many cases, forced disappearances culminate in sham judicial proceedings. Detainees are transferred to police custody, where fabricated charges are filed to legitimize their detention. In Burkina Faso, some victims have faced an even more sinister fate—being forcibly conscripted into the military and sent to the front lines. This happened to Guézouma Sanogo and Boukari Ouoba, president and vice-president of the Burkina Faso Journalists’ Association, who had spoken out against press freedom violations, and to Luc Pagbelguem of the private channel BF1, who amplified their warnings. Their families received no news for a week after their arrest on March 24, 2025, until a video surfaced online showing them in military uniforms.
The judiciary remains one of the last bastions against these abuses. In Burkina Faso, courageous judges ordered the immediate release of lawyer Guy Hervé Kam. In Guinea, the bar association boycotted court sessions for days in July 2024, demanding the release of Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah. Courts in Mali and Niger have also ruled against arbitrary detentions, despite facing retaliation. At least five Burkinabè magistrates were forcibly conscripted into the military in 2024 after presiding over sensitive cases involving regime figures or supporters.
Despite mounting pressure and personal risks, the judiciary must continue to uphold the law. International support for justice systems in these countries is essential—not only to protect individual rights, but to preserve the very foundations of the rule of law. The fate of those still missing hangs in the balance, and the silence of the state must not prevail over justice.