Indicted Sierra Leone ex-leader arrive Nigeria from Freetown

A one time leader of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, who is facing treason charges, has left the country for Nigeria in what the government called an humanitarian gesture. The 70 year old former president was conveyed to Abuja through a Nigerian presidential aircraft where analysts say he had been granted asylum…

Former Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma has arrived in Nigeria after a court granted him medical leave to travel abroad despite treason accusations raised against him.

The 70-year-old ex-leader was charged with four offenses over his alleged role in a failed military coup to destabilize the government in November.

He was later granted permission to leave Sierra Leone for just three months following a high court ruling on Wednesday.

Sierra Leone’s current incumbent president described the move as a “humanitarian gesture” to the ex-leader.

However, analysts in the West African country believed that a deal had been concluded to pave the way for Mr Bai Koroma to go into exile in Nigeria.

He was transported to Abuja via a Nigerian presidential jet through the Freetown International Airport on Friday afternoon.

Mr Bai Koroma ruled Sierra Leone for 11 years until 2018, when current President Julius Maada Bio was elected.

Recall that Sierra Leone escaped a military takeover last year after armed men stormed a military barracks and prisons, freeing around 2,000 inmates, the authorities said.

No fewer than. 21 people were killed in the attack, which was condemned by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and other members of the international community.