Event Summary
For several months, Libreville, Gabon, has been the scene of arrests and detentions targeting journalists and activists, fuelling a climate of fear and uncertainty. On 15 January 2025, Roland Olouba Oyabi, editor-in-chief of Gabon Mails Infos, was forcibly arrested at around 11 a.m. at the Awendjé interchange in the 4th district of the municipality of Libreville. He was on his way to cover a story in the neighbouring municipality of Owendo. He was arrested in the presence of one of his fellow journalists by agents of the General Directorate of Counter-Intelligence and Military Security (B2), without any official information being provided on the reasons for his arrest.
He was then transferred to the B2 premises for questioning and his case immediately prompted the intervention of the High Authority for Communication (HAC), the regulatory and mediation body for the press, which visited the premises the following day to investigate the situation. However, the delegation was turned away by B2 agents and after 24 hours no official statement has been made: reinforcing the opacity surrounding this case. Roland Olouba Oyabi was released four days after his arrest.