An Ivorian journalist, Serge Mathurin Adou, who had been missing since August 31, 2024, was arrested by Niger police and is suspected of complicity in an attempted coup d’état in Burkina Faso.

His name appears on a list published by Burkinabe Minister of Security, Mahamoudou Sana, which details the plot against President Ibrahim Traoré’s regime.

Employed by a television station in Niger, Adou is accused of participating in efforts to destabilize the presidential palace in Burkina Faso.

Minister Sana revealed that the alleged coup plotters had sought the assistance of terrorist groups involved in the Barsalogho massacre. These groups were planning attacks on several strategic locations in Burkina Faso, including the Koulouba presidency, a drone site, Ouagadougou airport, and the FDS position in Mangodara from Côte d’Ivoire.

Adou is specifically accused of directing Abdoulaye Barry, alias “The Traveler,” who is identified as the main instigator of the plot. Other notable figures implicated include former Burkinabe transitional president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, former foreign ministers, and several officers.

This incident is part of a series of failed coup attempts and destabilization efforts that the transitional government has previously reported.