By Ken Afor
Thirteen military officers were taken into custody following an unsuccessful coup attempt targeting Sierra Leone’s primary military barracks and prisons, the country’s spokesperson revealed on Tuesday.
Information Minister Chernor Bah stated at a briefing to reporters concerning early morning attacks in the usually tranquil Freetown on Sunday that the assailants had endeavored to overthrow the legitimate government of Sierra Leone, taking both security forces and citizens by surprise.
“Thirteen military officers are currently in custody and one other civilian … in this incident we are now calling a failed coup,” Bah said.
In the wake of Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio being reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in June, yet another coup attempt has heightened political tensions in West and Central Africa.
Eight military takeovers have occurred in the area since 2020, among those being Niger and Gabon this year.
The heavy sound of gunfire on Sunday morning startled the people of Freetown when a group of armed assailants made their way into the largest military barracks situated near the Presidential Villa, which is heavily guarded. They broke into the main armory on the premises.
Over two dozen attackers targeted two prisons in the city, with most of the more than 2,000 inmates being freed from the central prison, as reported by Col. Sulaiman Massaquoi, acting head of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service.
More than 100 of the inmates who were liberated during the assault have returned to the penitentiary, the information minister stated, while a commoner has also been apprehended related to the raid, and a search is being conducted for the escaping culprits.
On Tuesday, security personnel attempted to apprehend one of the fugitives when gunshots were heard in the capital city.
“The person of interest has been arrested and is now in custody of the security forces,” the information ministry said in a statement.
The Chief of Defense Staff, Lt. Gen. Peter Lavahun, stated at the briefing that a lot of the attackers were either concealed or remain at-large throughout the nation.
He stated there was no CCTV in the armory, however they were in the process of examining to make sure of the exact number of weapons seized.
“We were able to recover two vehicles containing arms and ammunition that were carted away,” said Lavahun.
On Tuesday, even after the government eased the 24-hour curfew by restricting it to a night lockdown, numerous people in Freetown and throughout the nation stayed inside their homes.
Since Julius Maada Bio’s reelection in a vote the opposition has alleged was rigged in his favour, there have been growing political tensions in Sierra Leone.
In response, two months later police reported the arrest of several people, including high-ranking military officers who had plotted to use protests as a means to disrupt the peace.
The country of Sierra Leone, with a population of 8 million people and one of the world’s poorest, is still recovering from a violent 11-year civil war, which concluded more than two decades ago. Its neighboring nation of Guinea, however, remains politically unstable, following a coup that occurred in 2021.
ECOWAS, a regional economic bloc in West Africa of which Sierra Leone is a part, has vocally condemned the recent attacks, sending a delegation to show their support and solidarity to the country’s president.
