(JollofNews) – A Gambian whistleblower who exposed the high level of corruption at the country’s former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) -now State Intelligence Services- and the incompetence of its staff is hot waters.
Bubacarr A.M.O Badjie, legal adviser of the spy agency is accused of breaking the country’s security secrets and code of conduct binding on all active and serving officers of this intelligence service.
Mr Badjie has accused the agency of having a 60 per cent workforce that is “functionally illiterate” and can neither read or understand the English Language.
He said a large percentage of the staff some of whom were members of President Jammeh’s Green Youths and relatives living at the residence of Mr Jammeh’s mum, were recruited into the agency by past and present directors, former army generals and Mr Jammeh’s cousin, Pa Bojang.
“The usefulness of such people as NIA agents is very insignificant as most of them cannot write comprehensive English Language nor understand it,” Badjie wrote in a petition to the Office of the President.
In the petition, Mr Badjie also revealed how former President Yahya Jammeh used the NIA to spy on the campaign team of President Adama Barrow during last year’s disputed presidential election.
The NIA has reacted with fury to Mr Badjie’s allegations which it described as ‘untrue’ and has allegedly issued an order for his arrest.
The agency said it has a high calibre of staff some of who are graduates with masters, bachelors, HTC, post-graduate diplomas in various areas.
It added: “Having set the records straight, please allow us to most unequivocally condemn the behavior of Bubacarr A.M.O Badjie who has without respect to the demands of national security and secrecy made allegations that are untrue yet constitute violations of the official secrets and code of conduct binding on all active and serving officers of this intelligence service.”
Instead of harassing Mr Badjie into silence, it’s incumbent upon the government to investigate into these troubling allegations…
I’m not a believer in “doom & gloom” but simply brushing this issue away like an aggrieved perception, this government can be sleepwalking into another fiasco to endanger the whole country back again…
It’s troubling that this government is being misled ( (Devil loyalists) into following the very same footsteps we all dispice, against the values we breathlessly fought for to regain this subtle “infant democracy”…
It’s farfetched to expect outright perfection from the very start BUT the writings are indeed on the walls for all to watch out & draw lessons…
I hope I’m wrong on this…
God bless Gambia; Ameen…
Rectification – (by Devil loyalists)- thank you
The Gambian government keeps giving out mixed signals of incompetence and complacency;
The organs of state are all too often at odds with each other. It does not bode well for consistency when Ministers make conflicting statements on deeply troubling issues.
Some write that the Barrow government are making changes to the status quo that pre-existed, that will take time and patience. To alter the intelligence agencies name does not in itself confirm the bad have been discharged and the agency refreshed and under the necessary supervision and competent guidance.
NIA to SIS>>. Yes but what does this mean in reality ? To make complaint from within and to be arrested for making that complaint suggests the State are “shooting the messenger”/
Come now….. deal with complaints in a timely and professional manner. If proven respond with a firm hand. If unproven explain why and ask if the complaint was dealt with competently. There can be no room for victimisation.
Even Argos have a well written complaints policy.
Come on Mikey; Theresa May was my cleaner before …
Sarcasm aside; what student jobs does your home community actually accord student workers in UK …?
Everyone passes through a channel…
Will you now account David Cameron for the “piggy-head encounter”…??
What about Donald Thrump’s “grab them by p****”…???
See; “charcoal call kettle black…”
When was the Nia a capable national intelligence agency or when did it became a capable state intelligence service?
Nia-Sis should be disbanded and a ‘bureau of investigations’ branch of an independent police force established. A parlance of the new administration, ‘SIS’, is not a national security solution at all.
The whole establishment, it’s installations and personnel are supposed be a crime scenes and criminals under investigations. All employees who served in the agency up to the time of the political impasse should be issued travel ban outside Gambia and all their travel documents surrendered to the authorities. Qualified citizens don’t run like a silent river to drown good citizens. Any idea of a national security or whatever a term, is simply going to get politicised by it’s personnel in the long run no matter how many Utg graduates such a security so-called agency will recruit.
Bajaw; Procedure must be established for complaint; As you very well know. The UK has over the years realised complaint is a vital tool of democracy. Whether it be against the Energy companies or Lawyers or the Police or Government or Marks and Spencer>>Sorry about the Argos quip>> but they too abide and encourage dissatisfaction complaint as a means to improve service;
Sure; very true, indeed Mike; the current government needs to wake up from the honeymoon slumber & smell the coffee…
Currently, there can’t be much existence-threats with ECOMIG on the ground but we can’t rely on others into infinity for definite…
The soonest the government treat the security situation of the country to stand on our own feet steadily the better…
Thank you…
I am a little surprised Demba Jawo as the Minister for Information is the only one on a rare occasion, giving clarity to the present questions posed, by an ever vigilant public searching for too many answers.
All are asking/ come pleading/ for President Barrow to communicate leadership and direction.
Mai Fatty is coming in for criticism too often, but at least is not stagnant. even if some of his words are perhaps a man” shooting from the hip”
Honeymoon period was over months ago>>> should now be doing something to which the general public can support.
We want Gambia Government to rise to its challenges.
Lawyer Badgie is crying foul now that he is at the receiving end. But what has been his advise when the NIA was murdering and torturing innocent Gambians? I doubt if any of the operatives who served under jammeh deserves to be breathing fresh air today.
Whilst The Minister of Information Demba Jawo welcomes critique from the members of the online media, we must also understand with patience that all that was left behind cannot be cancelled with immediate effect. It must be an ever present nightmare to know who can be trusted and who should be handled with great caution. 22 years of control and established procedures is not going to be democratised without resolve. I am certain such questions are being asked behind government closed doors as we speak.
The truth is always a hard pill for some people to swallow. Mr Badjie is a Jola he knows more about the defunt NIA than those who are intimidating and harrasing him.Besides what ever is mentioned or raveled about a former head of state is no longer a state secret and in this case against Yaya Jammeh. Thank you Mr Badjie for putting your country first before your tribe. As a concerned citizen I think the SIS should not take any action on anyone who exposes the Jammeh regime.If the truth and reconciliation we sought for is the tool to bring the country together then it is the responsibility of every Gambian to say what they know about the notorious defunct NIA without fear.The people furious about Mr Badjie’s comment should know that due to illittacy many Gambians died while under the custody of the notorious NIA. This was the agency which only belief in “BEAT THEY WILL TALK “rather than investigate professionally. It was thesame illittacy and ignorance that lead to death of one of our nations brave patriotic citizen SOLO SADANG (RIP). Exposing a deposed dictator is not a crime but a tool towards a better truth and reconciliation.Finally the members of defunct NIA currently facing trial will proof Mr Badjie’s statement. We shall see when they testify before the jury .Thank you Mr Badjie The Gambia needs people like you. You put your country first before your tribe and that is what we need in the new Gambia.
Spot On Tijan I couldn’t agree more.
NIA now SIS should be scrapped in the first place.
What’s the essence of keeping them?