Niger Ends Intelligence Partnership with Morocco Over Suspected French Infiltration

Niger authorities have suspended an intelligence-sharing agreement with Morocco, citing suspicions of French infiltration and a lack of operational effectiveness.

The decision, taken by Niger’s Directorate General for Documentation and External Security (DGDSE), ends a contract that had been signed with a Moroccan company specialising in communications interception.

The firm, closely linked to Morocco’s Directorate General of Studies and Documents (DGED), headed by Yassine Mansouri, was brought into Niger with the active support of the country’s Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (ARCEP). Security equipment was deployed in key areas of the capital, Niamey, under the deal.

Initially hailed as a strategic breakthrough for national security, the partnership came under scrutiny recently. According to multiple local sources, DGDSE investigators determined that the surveillance systems and personnel deployed by Morocco failed to meet operational standards.

More troubling, however, was the discovery of a link between the Moroccan company and a private French intelligence contractor.

The entire surveillance system was dismantled overnight. There was no more room for negotiation after the confirmation of the link with the French secret services,” said a senior Nigerien official.

The cancellation was personally ordered by Bala Araby, head of the DGDSE, effectively ending all intelligence cooperation with Rabat.

Reports suggest that the rupture may leave Niger’s intelligence services exposed, with almost no technical surveillance capacity remaining. The country now relies heavily on human intelligence, supported by intensified patrols of Niamey’s strategic districts by the Presidential Guard.

Read Also: France Revives 2023 Claims, Citing Vienna Convention To Secure Release Of French Spy In Mali Coup Plot

Plainclothes officers, operating on foot and motorcycles, have been deployed to monitor critical zones between midnight and dawn, including the hospital ring road, the Ministry of Justice, Yantala district, the Palais des Congrès, and the embassy district.

In a related report, Mali’s transitional government foiled a coup plot and arrested a French national for working with foreign agents to destabilise the country.

Security Minister Gen Daoud Aly Mohammedine announced on national television on Thursday, 14 August 2025, that the French spy, Yann Vezilier, was operating for France’s intelligence service. His image was shown alongside two detained army generals, including former Mopti governor Gen Abass Dembele and senior officer Néma Sagara.

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Oluwasegun Sanusi

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