By Saio Marrah
The Joint Force Commander of the RSLAF, has told the ongoing court martial that about 18:00 hours on Saturday 25th November 2023, he was at his office at the Cockerill headquarters in Freetown doing his routine check on the alertness of his personnel when he received a phone call from a security agent saying that an unknown person has claimed that Freetown would come under attack that night.
Major-General Dauda Fred Alpha said upon receiving that information he contacted the head of Forces Intelligence Security Unit (FISU) to ascertain the veracity of the said claim. He said he then summoned all his principal officers of the Joint Force and the Commanding Officer of 3 brigade at Murray Town barracks, Brigadier General A.S. Bockarie and Lieutenant Colonel Yamba of 5 infantry battalion at Wilberforce Barracks who is the 17th accused in the court martial, to a meeting.
General Alpha said at the meeting he updated them on the intelligence report and told Lieutenant Colonel Yamba to “put your soldiers on standby and ensure your armoury is safe”. The Joint Force Commander said in reference to 3 battalion commander that: “when he was appointed as battalion commander, I specifically admonished him about his role including the key one as …Freetown defence battalion.”
General Alpha said he also warned the Commanding Officer of the 3 Brigade, which has the Joint Logistic Unit (JLU), to do same and that he passed on a similar message to all other Brigade Commanders across the country and then facilitated a joint patrol team (military and Police) throughout Freetown while the remaining troops remained on alert at the Cockerill barracks.
According to him, when the patrol team returned about 1:30 am, he told them to still be on standby and that by 3:30 am, they heard gunfire and he called the 17th accused but he was unreachable. He said another officer called him to report that the armoury at Wilberforce barracks was under attack by unknown assailants.
The JFC said he ordered other units to reinforce the 5 infantry battalion but that the firing was still intensifying and at that point he rushed to the Pademba Road prison and to the JLU to urge the personnel to be vigilant.
Gen Alpha told the court how he went to Cockerill and then to Wilberforce barracks, together with other senior officers and that on arrival in the area around the Mayoaung Officer’s mess, the assailants who were stationed on the overhead bridge, started firing Rocket Propel Grenade (RPG) and other heavy weapons sporadically in their direction. He said he called the 17th accused but he was still unreachable but he would later “pick my call to tell me he was in the area around the 34 military hospital” and then he joined the JFC troops on the main street with about four soldiers.
The General, who has served for 33 years, further told the court that he then ordered the 17th accused to work with JFC troops to repel the assailants from the amoury, noting that after a “fierce battle, they eventually repelled the assailants".
According to him just after that he received a call that Cockerill barracks was under attack so he had to move with some of the troops to Cockerill, but they were ambushed at Murray Town Junction by the assailants.
He said the assailants specifically targeted his vehicle with an RPG and his personal bodyguard, Staff Sergeant Nabbie Marah was beheaded beyond recognition and that the vehicle destroyed. He said he had to take cover and saw the assailants, most of them in full military uniform, rushing towards the vehicle searching for him.
The Joint Force Commander said his uniform was now soaked in blood as he bled having sustained a deep cut from a fragment in his lower abdomen. He said they then returned fire at the assailants and “after a long and intensive battle their number kept increasing so my troops were overpowered”.
He said while crawling for cover he saw late Lieutenant Colonel Samai who was among his troops also doing the same and that he was eventually evacuated to 34 Military Hospital for treatment but the doctors were unable to conduct the surgery and had to be taken abroad.
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