A 26-year-old scrap metal collector, N.B., was found guilty of attempted blackmail by the Ouaga I High Court in Burkina Faso on October 27, 2026. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison, with six months to be served and the rest suspended, and ordered to pay a fine of one million CFA francs with a suspended sentence. N.B. had been accused of threatening several young women to send him money by threatening to publish their intimate images on social media.
According to the court proceedings, N.B. made contact with the young women in a WhatsApp group in September 2026. He would engage in conversations with them and then propose that they appear naked in video calls. Once they agreed, he would record the conversations, delete the parts where he appeared, and use the images to extort money from them. The court heard that N.B. had targeted multiple women, but only one, M.G., appeared in court to testify.
During the trial, N.B. claimed that he had only obtained intimate images from one woman, who had sent them to him in exchange for money. He stated that he had not published any of the images online and that the Brigade centrale de lutte contre la cybercriminalité (BCLCC) had arrested him after the woman had shared his phone number on TikTok. However, during the investigation, N.B. had admitted to exchanging with at least eight women.
The prosecution presented evidence that N.B. had demanded 10,000 and 15,000 CFA francs from M.G. in exchange for not publishing her intimate images. The court also heard that N.B. had never obtained any money from his alleged victims. The prosecution requested a requalification of the charges from blackmail to attempted blackmail and asked for a sentence of 24 months, with 12 months to be served.
The court partially accepted the prosecution's requests, reducing the custodial sentence to six months and suspending the fine. The judge also advised N.B. to seek a wife, stating that his behavior was not befitting of a believer. The case highlights the growing concern of online harassment and cybercrime in Burkina Faso.
The conviction was based on evidence presented by the prosecution, including testimony from the alleged victims and N.B.'s own admissions. The case demonstrates the efforts of the Burkinabé authorities to combat cybercrime and protect citizens from online harassment.
The incident serves as a warning to those who would engage in similar activities, and it highlights the importance of reporting suspicious behavior to the authorities.
Key points
- A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 24 months in prison for attempting to blackmail young women in Burkina Faso.
- The accused had threatened to publish intimate images of the women on social media if they did not send him money.
- The court ordered the accused to pay a fine of one million CFA francs with a suspended sentence.
