Relief sweeps across Niger as Hamid Mahmoud, a prominent journalist with Radio Sahara FM in Agadez, has been released after enduring over a year of detention. His arrest in May 2025 followed his reporting on the alleged breakdown of security agreements between Niger and Russia, a nation with which Niamey’s military government has forged closer ties.

The news of Mahmoud’s liberation this Friday was confirmed by a representative of a private Nigerien media association. The journalist’s release was also independently reported by Aïr Info, a media outlet affiliated with the same press group as Radio Sahara FM.

Established in 2003, Sahara FM holds significant influence as one of the most important radio stations operating across Niger’s vast northern desert region. Hamid Mahmoud, alongside two other journalists from the same station, faced apprehension twice in Agadez during May 2025. Their detentions were directly linked to their coverage of the purported