Gabon: Influencer demands 9 million euros to suppress compromising recordings of the President

A 25-year-old influencer from Lebanon, who has emerged on social media as a countervailing voice in Gabon, has become a diplomatic threat after demanding six billion CFA francs not to publish allegedly compromising recordings of President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema. Arrested in Beirut at the request of Libreville, the case raises questions about the murky role of "influencers," the tycoons of digital scandal.

A virulent activist who became a champion of blackmail

Nazih Marwan Al-Azzi, alias Nazih, became known for his provocative videos and invective against the Oligui Nguema regime. Barely 25 years old, he quickly established himself as a controversial figure on the Gabonese internet. He had already been briefly arrested and then released by Gabonese special services. But his virulence did not subside. He took refuge in Lebanon, where he continued to keep Libreville in suspense, continuing his public attacks on the current president.

Everything changed when he released the first audio recording of a supposed private conversation with the Gabonese president. This content, he claims, is only the beginning: Nazih claims to have 46 other "highly compromising" audio recordings and 14 videos, which he is threatening to release in stages.

Six billion CFA francs against silence or exposure

What turned the affair into a national scandal was the sum demanded. Nazih demanded six billion CFA francs, or approximately nine million euros, in exchange for his silence. This demand, deemed exorbitant, sparked immediate outrage among the Gabonese people and the political class.

The extortionist nature of this imagined transaction transforms the case from an online protest into an attempted blackmail. Nazih is now accused by Gabonese authorities of organized corruption, blackmail, and public insults. The case threatens to be explosive if it goes to trial in Libreville.

The response was not limited to social media. Nazih was arrested in Beirut on August 1, 2025, by the Lebanese General Directorate of Security, at the request of the Gabonese authorities. This arrest comes despite the absence of a formal judicial cooperation treaty between the two countries; an ad hoc arrangement was reportedly reached to neutralize this digital threat, deemed harmful to the diplomatic interests of both states.

The Lebanese community residing in Gabon has distanced itself from the situation. In a statement, it denounced Nazih as a "black sheep," fearing a deterioration in his image and business relations between Libreville and Beirut.

If the extradition is confirmed, Nazih could face trial in Libreville on serious charges. The trial will likely be public and highly publicized, testing the regime's ability to neutralize a digital threat and balance transparency, justice, and stability.

Nazih Marwan Al-Azzi sought to shake the regime with his revelations. But today, he is the one caught in the web: between incitement, legal threat, and diplomatic crisis, the affair is circulating in terms of the multiplication of online powers and institutional counter-powers. It is now up to the Gabonese justice system to decide whether this provocative young man was merely an isolated agitator or the symptom of a deeper malaise in the social presidency of African leaders.