The Liberian government has confirmed that it sent back to Sierra Leone a former senior police officer among people wanted by the Bio administration for plotting to unseat it.
The Ministry of Information in Monrovia said in a statement on Tuesday that President George Weah’s administration took the decision to remove former Chief Superintendent of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Mohammed Y. Toure from its territory on the request of Sierra Leonean authorities.
“Mr. Toure was apprehended in Monrovia by Liberian security forces at the request of the Sierra Leonean authorities on the allegation of helping plan subversive activities intended to unseat the Government of President Julius Maada Bio,” the statement signed by Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Ledgerhood Rennie, reads.
The confirmation comes a day after news about the arrest of the suspect was published in the local media in Monrovia. Turay was reportedly detained by the Liberian National Police (LNP) since August 4.
The SLP first made public its investigation of the alleged plot of subversive activities against the state in a statement issued on July 31. It declined to comment on the specifics at the time.
On Tuesday, Inspector General of Police William Fayia Sellu revealed that they had arrested a total of 19 people as part of the investigation.
IGP Sellu said at a press briefing that they had taken into custody a suspect of the same title as Turay, although he didn’t mention any name.
Among those detained by the SPL, according to the IGP, include eight senior members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and two serving members of the police.
Turay was reportedly dismissed from the Sierra Leone Police in 2020. According to reports, he had been living in Liberia since last year.
The Liberian government’s statement said he also went by the name there Sankoh Paul Alimamy. It added that it handed him over after getting assurances that his rights will be respected, including a free, fair and speedy trial.
“His handover to the Sierra Leonean Government is in keeping with the laws of Liberia and the 1986 Non-Aggression Security Treaty entered into by the Governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea,” the statement says.
“The decision is also in line with the 1994 Ecowas Convention,” it adds.
Meanwhile, a report by the Liberian daily Front Page Africa on Tuesday indicates that Sierra Leone is seeking telephone call records as part of its investigation against Turay and several other unnamed Sierra Leoneans accused of involvement in the plot and who live in Monrovia.
According to the paper, some members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces were spotted at the Justice Ministry in Monrovia this week and it cited communications between Interpol and the Liberian authorities confirming the request from the Liberian mobile telephone operator, LoneStar.
