(JollofNews) – Thank you, Mr. President – but please stop Yankuba Badgie!
Mr. President, first of all it is wonderful to create SIS and bury the NIA. Secondly, it is even more wonderful that the SIS will not have power to arrest or detain anyone. Arrest, as you stated earlier, is a matter for the police only – not the Security Service (SIS) nor the Army (I once had a soldier arrested by his Commander at Fajara Barracks when the soldier tried to arrest the Daily Observer’s Sports writer!).
Now these powers of the State and the rights and responsibilities of citizens need to be codified in law – in due course. Citizens have responsibilities too – a UK citizen just went to jail for manslaughter because he saw someone drown and waited for some 3 hours to call the police.
He was not responsible for the drowning, just failed to call for help for 3 hours. So citizens have responsibilities. Which brings us Mr. President (and fellow Gambians) to the reported plans by the NIA’s Yankuba Badgie to run away from the jurisdiction of The Gambia.
Mr. President, Gambians, Yankuba Badgie is the one man with all the information about the tortures under Yahya Jammeh in recent years. He was in-charge of the NIA when Solo Sandeng was arrested, tortured and murdered ny the NIA. When all the UDP women were tortured by the NIA. The proposed Truth Commission will require Yankuba Badgie’s testimony. Any future prosecution will require Yankuba Badgie’s testimony. So Mr. President, Gambians, please stop Yankuba Badgie from fleeing.
Clearly, we cannot just dump Yankuba Badgie in the NIA torturer chambers, nor dump him in Mile 2, nor put him in some secret prison – as his NIA and Yahya jammeh did with so many Gambians. But what we can lawfully do is a) arrest him b) take him to court the same day and charge him with unlawful arrests and disappearances c) bail him to his home the same day – minus is passport and any other travel documents. He does not need to spend even one night in a cell.
If he then does leave the jurisdiction of The Gambia, we can issue an Interpol Red Notice for his arrest and return to The Gambia. If is foolish enough to run, he would have to hide for the rest of his life.
By the way, Mr. President, we could issue an Interpol Arrest Warrant for Yankuba Badgie’s former boss, Ousman Sonko, who is now under arrest in Switzerland. These two have a lot to tell the Truth Commission.
Dida Halake,
Notting Hill,
London, UK.
Perfect reasoning ! Right 2 the point.
Please don’t let him run away.
Abaraka
Jerejef
Thank u
You are absolutely right, mr Halake. Those two should be brought to justice and not given the possibility to escape. So Ousman Sonko is now in Switzerland? Did know he fled to Sweden but was deported from there to Spain in accordance with the Dublin convention. How come he is in Switzerland now?
May be he and Jammeh have all Gambia’s money stashed there in secret accounts!
Absolutely right. Those who are complicit in torture and ill treatment of Gambians must be held to account. People like Badjie can’t say they are not aware of what was going on. Victims of their crimes should be allowed closure by ensuring justice is served. There will be no peace without justice, everyone must face the consequence of their actions.
I can’t agree more,you have hit the nail right in the head Mr Halake.Yankuba should have gone with his crooked boss,but chose to stay for reasons best known to him,i guess it is a blessing in disguise for the new leadership,let them act now before it’s too late.
Dida, are we trying to get information from him or hold him responsible for crimes committed by NIA operative under Yahya’s orders.
If we want information why not just invite him as a private citizen and ask the questions we need answers to. Of course he can refuse to answer. That is his constitutional right as a Gambian. If there is evidence of crimes against the State, let the Justice dept file charges against him and ask a Judge to issue arrest warrant . He can then be picked up and go in front of a judge to show cause. The reason this is so important is obvious . In the new Gambia even criminals have rights that must be protected. Yankuba did not act alone, the truth will eventually come out .
I personally don’t care if he leaves or stays in Gambia. I do care that we vette our actions and protect the rights of all citizens .