By Juliana E. P. Kabba
Sierra Leone’s former President Ernest Bai Koroma has returned home following his interrogation at the Criminal Investigation Department of the police on Friday.
Kororma arrived at the CID in the morning, a day after he was summoned by police to answer questions as part of investigations into last month’s alleged attempted failed coup.
The police invitation said he was needed to assist in the investigation.
The former president traveled from his base in the northern city of Makeni late on Thursday, spending the night at his private home at the Femi Turna Drive in the west end of the capital city.
He rode in a convoyed led by security forces to the CID headquarters on Friday morning.
A statement from his office said he was accompanied by his attorneys, led by former Justice Minister Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara.
Koroma later posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as twitter, that he had returned home after his questioning.
“I have returned home after the interview with the police, who were professional in their interaction,” he wrote, adding that the interview is set to continue tomorrow.
The development comes as tension mounts in the country after the incident on November 26, which began with shooting at the country’s main military barracks in Wilberforce and spread to several part of the city.
The attackers engaged state security forces at two other military bases, in Cockril and Murray Town, according to the government.
They also breached the Pademba Road maximum security prison, freeing over 1000 inmates, among them people facing trial for an earlier alleged coup plot.
The government says 21 people died in the attack, 18 of them state security officers, who were honored in an interfaith funeral service on Wednesday.
At the event, President Julius Maada Bio vowed to ensure that everyone found to be involved with the attack will face the full force of the law, regardless of their status in society.
Over 50 people have been arrested as of Thursday, according to police, who say some of them were former security guards of Koroma. They include Amadu Koita, the man described by Information Minister Cherno Bah as top on the ‘Wanted List’ published by the police.
But Koroma was among the first to condemn the attack.
He has continued to do so, even repeating his call for full investigation and due process.
“As expressed in my public statements, I maintain an open mind, place my trust in due process and the rule of law to prevail,” he said in his post following his CID interrogation on Friday.
