Embattled Sierra Leone Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma Lands in Nigeria

VOICE AIR MEDIA, News Update

Ernest Bai Koroma, Sierra Leone’s former president, flew to Nigeria on Friday after being accused with his suspected role in what officials describe an attempted coup.

Koroma arrived in Abuja on Friday afternoon and was greeted by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and President of the ECOWAS Commission Omar Alieu Touray.

Nigeria has already offered to allow the ex-president to enter temporarily, and he accepted.

The 70-year-old, who led the West African nation from 2007 to 2018, was granted permission by court authorities on Wednesday to spend up to three months in Nigeria for medical treatment.

During a national address on Thursday evening, current President Julius Maada Bio referred to the court’s judgment as a “humanitarian gesture”.

Koroma’s adviser, Sheriff Mahmud Ismail, had previously stated that the former head of state boarded a Nigerian Air Force plane without identifying the flight’s destination.

Sierra Leone’s High Court earlier this week authorized the ex-president to seek medical care in Nigeria.

Koroma, who has effectively been under house arrest since December 9, was charged in early January with four offences including treason concerning the events in late November.

On November 26, armed attackers stormed a military armoury, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations, clashing with security forces.

Twenty-one people were killed and hundreds of prisoners escaped before authorities were able to regain control after what they deemed a coup attempt by members of the armed forces.

At least 80 people were arrested in connection with the clashes, most of them military personnel.