The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has appealed to Niger’s president over alleged violations of the fundamental rights of the country’s Arab Mahamid community, amid reports of restrictions on access to water, education, healthcare and identity documents.
In an urgent appeal sent to President Abdourahamane Tchiani on November 6, three commission representatives raised concerns about the treatment of the community in the southeastern Diffa region. The appeal was made public on November 9.
The signatories included the commissioner responsible for the human rights situation in Niger and the heads of two working groups covering economic, social and cultural rights, and the rights of Indigenous populations, communities and minorities.
The Mahamid are an Arab community with historical links to Chad and Sudan. Many live in Niger’s Diffa region. Some families have been settled there for generations, following successive waves of migration from neighbouring countries.
Disputes over their nationality and identity documents have repeatedly put them at odds with the authorities.
Officials have accused some Mahamid residents of obtaining nationality documents fraudulently, trafficking arms and having links to armed groups around the Lake Chad basin.
At a security meeting in Diffa on August 22, Governor Mahamadou Ibrahim Bagadoma and other officials discussed nationality papers, cross-border movement and security, as well as tensions over water and grazing land, according to state news agency ANP.
ANP reported that Bagadoma warned against holding the entire Arab community responsible for allegations involving particular individuals. The accusations have not been independently verified.
The appeal comes amid reports of measures restricting the Mahamid’s access to basic services and official documents.
Nigerien publication African Perceptions said it had obtained a copy of an Interior Ministry radio message dated October 7 and numbered 002235, addressed to the governors of Diffa and Zinder.
According to the publication, the message instructed authorities to close schools and water facilities used by the Mahamid, require community members to pay the full cost of healthcare and stop issuing civil status documents to them. It also called for the withdrawal of existing documents, including national identity cards and passports, and for security forces to enforce the measures.
Al Jazeera has not independently authenticated the document or established whether the instructions have been implemented.
The commission has expressed concern about the reported restrictions on access to water, education and healthcare, as well as identity documents. Its appeal to President Tchiani is not a formal finding that the government has violated the community’s rights.
Chadian broadcaster Radio Ndarason Internationale reported that Mahamid representatives were told at a meeting in Diffa on November 8 that they had two months to leave Niger.
The meeting was reportedly attended by the Diffa prefect, the Gueskerou administrator, the Komadougou canton chief and village chiefs. Radio Ndarason said the community representatives declined to comment when approached.
Nigerien publication La Roue de l’Histoire reported on November 10 that the authorities had set December 31, 2026, as the deadline for the community to leave.
Neither publication has made a formal expulsion order available. Al Jazeera has not independently confirmed the decision, its legal basis or whether it applies to the entire community.
Niger faced a similar dispute in 2006, when the government announced plans to expel Arabs from Diffa to Chad. The operation was suspended after protests and negotiations.
