Authorities in the Gambia are questioning a group of security officers of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) formerly National Intelligence Agency (NIA) who were arrested last weekend in connection with the murder of a former United Democratic Party (UDP) Organising Secretary, Ebrima Solo Sandeng.
Although police are yet to reveal the names of those arrested, a police spokesperson David Kujabi, told your JollofNews that ten officers were initially nicked by police who are looking at some new materials.
He added that two of the security officers have been questioned and released on police bail while remaining eight are in custody and helping with their investigations.
Solo Sandeng died on 15th April 2016 less than 24 hours after he was arrested with a dozen other activists for staging a brief but peaceful protest against the former regime of President Yahya Jammeh at Westfield junction, Serrekunda.
Eye-witnesses said Mr Sandeng and his associates arrived at the busy Westfield junction some 12 kilometres away from the capital, Banjul, during the afternoon rush hour and displayed a banner with the slogan “We Need Proper Electoral Reform”. They also chanted anti-government slogans and demanded Mr Jammeh’s resignation.
However soon after the protest began, they were arrested by a contingent of security officials and detained briefly at the Police Intervention Unit, Kanifing before being transferred to the feared National Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Banjul.
Sheikh Omar Jeng, NIA’s former director of Operation, said in a sworn affidavit filed on 13th June 2016 in objection to an application made by Mr Sandeng’s lawyer for him to be produced in court whether dead or alive, that Mr Sandeng died during “the process of his arrest and detention”. He failed to disclosed the cause of the activist’s death.
Mr Jeng and eight other former NIA officers are currently standing trial for his murder.
The tiny West African nation is recovering from 22-year dictatorship by the Jammeh regime. As the Barrow administration is pushing ahead with a reconciliation agenda, a rising demand for justice from victims’ families continue to resonate across the country.
Written by Abdoulie JOHN
Just wondering if the name of Babu Soli is among the NIAs indicted for the cruel lynching of Gambian hero Solo Janko Sandeng. I bet he was performing a similar function for his demented hero in his area of operations. Justice will catch up with all responsible for inflicting so much pain on Gambians
Come on, What about the shooting to death of HARUNA JATTA in his native village of Kanilai for exercising his rights? Will that be investigated and politicised as the Solo Sandeng case? Solo Sandeng took the laws in his own hands. He was arrested. If he died in police custody, that should be investigated, nobody denied that. But he was an outlaw who went weird by disrespecting the laws of the country.
Was Haruna Jatta ever arrested to be interrogated? He was shot on the spot. Come on you damned FOOL, by calling yourself SOLI BABU.
Those who were eventually charged with Solo’s killing were all held beyond the limits of the laws and tortured incessantly. Is that your Barrow’s claim to adhere/uphold the rules of law?
What a double standard… HARUNA JATTA was exercising ”his rights” by protesting against the presence of Ecomig soldiers stationed around the environs of Kanilai, but SOLO SANDENG in doing the same exercising of ”his rights” by protesting for an electoral reforms was an outlaw, he took the laws in his own hands. Where is the sanity in this fool’s twisted and unintelligent assertions? A hypocrite who wouldn’t condemned the various reprehensible crimes against our people by Jammeh and his band of criminals is now coming out with more of the same lies he is known for. ”On quote ”Those who were eventually charged with Solo’s killing were all held beyond the limits of the laws and tortured incessantly” Where is the proof of their torture? How long were they detained before charged?What a lying shameless hypocrite you are. Those who committed crimes against our people,whether them being faked ass professors, blind uneducated loyalists or what, should all know that there will be no hiding place for them on this earth. We will smoke ”em” out from their rat holes and bring them to justice.
May Almighty God save our people from the evil of these hateful and lying faked ass professors.
Only FOOLS and IDIOTS would compare the slaining of a Gambian citizen (HARUNA JATTA) by foreign forces in his own land with that of Solo Sandeng’s misuse of his “rights”. ONLY FOOLS AND SILLY IDIOTS would compare the two incidences!
And only FOOLS and IDIOTS would think that HARUNA JATTA’s rights were more legally exercised than Solo Sandeng’s rights. And only FOOLS and IDIOTS would say that there is no difference between being killed by a foreign force in your own land and being killed by a force under an international mandated duty in which the nation is part of. And only fools and silly idiots would disagree that both individuals were not exercising their fundamental rights of assembly. And only fools and lying idiots would think that Solo Sandeng’s death is less lawful than the death of Haruna Jatta. And only fools and lying impartial scumbags would condemned Barrow’s government’s every move, while praising the 22 years of agony,brutality, killings, plundering perpetrated by Jammeh and his band of criminals. And only fools and lying impartial scumbags would see corruption, corruptibility, tribalism and bigotry in Barrow’s government but none in his predecessor’s government. And only fools and blind loyalist fools would refute the crimes committed by Jammeh to Gambian people and Gambian nation. And only fools and lying fools would twist the narrative to exonerate Yahya Jammeh, the beast from Kanilai.
CORRECTION
SANDENG’S killing less lawless than JATTA’s.
Solo had a selfless attachment to the expedition of justice in the Gambia and wanted to stand up to brutal and diabolical dictatorship that bedevilled Gambia for 22years. I don’t think anyone with human conscience would defend Yaya’s hitlerile and also messianic subjugation of our country unless it be tribal affiliation or lack of human feelings.
Allah would not let a person who perpetrate a callous and unrepentant destruction of human life end in a good state. Yaya will end on bad and will die to face his maker. Just like Reagan, Bush, Sadam all those created mayhem and bloodshed in their countries will perish in ignominy .